Warriors: Destiny Crossroads
by Wulf-Gurl
Summary: Seven moons have passed since the Great Battle between the clans and the Dark Forest. The clans have moved on and have healed, and are preparing for the upcoming Leafbare. When a new prophecy arrives shortly after the birth of Cinderheart's kits, all of Thunderclan begins to worry; does this mean more trouble, so soon after the Great Battle? HUMAN TO CAT TRANSFORMATION
1. Alliances

**A/N:: Hey guys~! This is my newest Story idea I've recently come up with, Destiny Crossroads (title is still an 'in progress' thing XDD) Anyways, it's a TF story; the main character is a twoleg that transforms into a warrior. ^^ Please, don't be shy to leave a review~! Whether its good, its bad, or you want to critic me, go right ahead, I'm open for it~!**

**Just a note, this story has spoilers for...hmm...probably the whole Omen of the Stars part of the series, especially the Last Hope. Just saying~  
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**Now, enjoy~!  
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Alliances

Thunderclan

**LEADER**** -****Bramblestar – **Dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**DEPUTY**** – Squirrelflight – **dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentice, Seedpaw**

**MEDICINE CAT**** – Jayfeather** – gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

**WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)**

**Graystripe** – long haired gray tom

**Dustpelt – **dark brown tabby tom

**Sandstorm **– pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Brackenfur **– golden brown tabby tom

**Cloudtail **– long haired white tom with blue eyes

**Apprentice, Firepaw**

**Millie **– striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Thornclaw **– golden brown tabby tom

**Leafpool **– light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Cherrypaw**

**Birchfall **– light brown tabby tom

**Whitewing **– white she-cat with green eyes

**Berrynose **– cream colored tom

**Hazeltail **– small gray and white she-cat

**Apprentice, Molepaw**

**Mousewhisker **– gray and white tom

**Cinderheart **– gray tabby she-cat

**Lionblaze **– golden tabby tom with amber eyes

**Foxleap **– reddish tabby tom

**Apprentice, Nettlepaw**

**Icecloud **– white she-cat

**Toadstep **– black and white tom

**Apprentice, Lilypaw**

**Rosepetal **– dark cream she-cat

**Briarlight **– dark brown she-cat

**Blossomfall **– tortoiseshell and white she-cat

**Bumblestripe **– very pale gray tom with black stripes

**Ivypool **– silver and white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Apprentice, Hollypaw**

**APPRENTICES (More than six moons old, training to become warriors)**

**Cherrypaw **– ginger she-cat

**Molepaw **– brown and cream tom

**Lilypaw **– dark tabby she-cat with white patches

**Seedpaw **– very pale ginger she-cat

**Hollypaw **– dark smoky gray she-cat with lighter chest and paws with blue eyes

**Firepaw **– dark ginger tom with reddish legs and bright green eyes

**Nettlepaw **– light gray tom with darker patches and amber eyes

**QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)**

**Daisy –** cream long furred cat from the horseplace

**Dovewing **– pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Brightheart **– white she-cat with ginger patches (mother of Amberkit, Dewkit, and Snowkit)

**ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)**

**Purdy **– plump tabby, former loner with a gray muzzle

**Spiderleg **– long limbed tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

Shadowclan

**LEADER**** – Blackstar **– large white tom with jet black paws

**DEPUTY **** - Rownaclaw **– ginger tom

**MEDICINE CAT**** – Littlecloud **– very small tabby tom

**WARRIORS **

**Oakfur **– small brown tom

**Smokefoot **– black tom

**Toadfoot **– dark brown tom

**Applefur **– mottled brown she-cat

**Apprentice, Mistpaw**

**Crowfrost** – black and white tom

**Ratscar **– brown tom with long scar across his back

**Snowbird **– pure white she-cat

**Tawnypelt **– tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

**Olivenose **– tortoiseshell she-cat

**Apprentice, Dewpaw**

**Owlclaw **– light brown tabby tom

**Shrewfoot **– gray she-cat with black feet

**Scorchfur **– dark gray tom

**Tigerheart **– dark brown tabby tom

**Dawnpelt **– cream furred she-cat

**Pinenose **– black she-cat

**Ferretclaw **– cream and gray tom

**Starlingwing **– ginger tom

**Apprentice, Sparrowpaw**

**Kinkfur **– tabby she cat, with long fur that sticks out at angles

**APPRENTICES**

**Sparrowpaw – **dark tabby tom

**Dewpaw **– light gray she-cat

**Mistpaw –** pale gray she-cat with spiked fur

**QUEENS**

**Ivytail **– black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

**ELDERS**

**Cedarheart **– dark gray tom

**Tallpoppy **– long legged light brown tabby she-cat

**Snaketail **– dark brown tom with tabby striped tail

**Whitewater **– white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

Windclan

**LEADER**** – Onestar **– brown tabby tom

**DEPUTY**** – Ashfoot **– gray she-cat

**MEDICINE CAT**** – Kestrelflight **– mottled gray tom

**WARRIORS**

**Crowfeather **– dark gray tom

**Owlwhisker **– light brown tabby tom

**Whitetail **– small white she-cat

**Nightcloud **– black she-cat

**Gorsetail **– very pale gray and white tom with blue eyes

**Apprentice, Honeypaw**

**Weaselfur **– ginger tom with white paws

**Harespring **– brown and white tom

**Leaftail **– dark tabby tom with amber eyes

**Emberfoot **– gray tom with two darker paws

**Apprentice, Dawnpaw**

**Heathertail ** **- **light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Swallowtail **– dark gray she-cat

**Sunstrike **– tortoiseshell she-cat with a large white mark on her forehead

**Whiskerstrike – **light brown tom

**Furzestep – **gray and white she-cat

**Bouldermask – **large pale gray tom

**APPRENTICES**

**Honeypaw – **light cream colored she-cat with pretty blue eyes

**Dawnpaw – **pale gray she-cat with white paws and white tail

**QUEENS**

**Sedgewhisker – **light brown tabby she-cat

**ELDERS**

**Webfoot **– dark gray tabby tom

**Tornear** – tabby tom

Riverclan

**LEADER ****– Mistystar **– gray she-cat with blue eyes

**DEPUTY ****– Reedwhisker **– black tom

**MEDICINE CAT ****– Mothwing **– dappled golden she-cat

**Apprentice, Willowshine** (gray tabby she-cat)

**WARRIORS**

**Graymist **– pale gray tabby she-cat

**Mintfur **– light gray tabby tom

**Icewing **– white she-cat with blue eyes

**Minnowtail **– dark gray she-cat

**Apprentice, Mossypaw**

**Pebblefoot **– mottled gray tom

**Apprentice, Rushpaw**

**Mallownose **– light brown tabby tom

**Robinwing **– tortoiseshell and white tom

**Petalfur **– gray and white she-cat

**Grasspelt **– light brown tom

**Troutstream **– pale gray tabby she-cat

**Hollowleg – **dark brown tabby tom

**APPRENTICES**

**Rushpaw – **light brown tabby tom

**Mossypaw – **brown and white she-cat

**QUEENS**

**Duskfur **– brown tabby she-cat

**Mosspelt **– tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

**ELDERS**

**Dapplenose **– mottled gray she-cat

**Pouncetail **– ginger and white tom

Cats Outside Clans

**Floss **– small gray and white she-cat who lives at the horseplace

**Smoky** – muscular gray and white tom who lives in a barn at the horseplace

**Shade **– dark smoky black tom with white paws who lives at the horseplace

**Flower **– small tortoiseshell she-cat who lives at the horseplace


	2. Prologue

Prologue

The forest was silent oddly silent, despite the warm feeling in the air. Birds twittered occasionally, their voices bouncing off the trees. From somewhere in the trees, a shriek of rage sounded, quickly followed by the roar of a monster; a moment later the bushes exploded as a small looking monster tore away from the clearing, a scared looking twoleg kit sitting on its back as it ran away.

In the clearing were three cats; a light tabby tom, his fur spiked and a snarl on his face, and one of his legs twisted at an odd angle. The next cat, a white she-cat, stood crouched over him, worriedly flicking her tail back and forth. The last cat, a big golden tabby, glared after where the monster had disappeared, his fur spiked and tail lashing.

"Birchfall, your leg…!" The she-cat meowed, gently touching his leg with her nose. The tabby hissed and jerked backwards, clenching his teeth in pain. "I-I think it's broken!"

"We'll need to get him back to camp, then." The golden tabby said after a few moments, turning back to the two. He walked forward and examined Birchfall's leg before turning back to the white she-cat. "Whitewing, help me get him onto my back." The white she-cat nodded as the tom crouched down, and she gently grabbed Birchfall's scruff and pulled him onto the golden tabby's shoulders.

"Are you sure you can carry him without hurting him?" Whitewing fretted as the golden tom stood up slowly. He nodded.

"As long as Birchfall keeps a good grip, he should be fine." He reassured the she-cat, and started through the undergrowth. "Go ahead and clear the path so I don't trip." He meowed, twitching his tail. She nodded and dashed off, and the three cats made their way slowly through the forest, down a small slope, and towards a huge barrier of thorns.

Whitewing watched the golden tabby carry Birchfall into camp worriedly, pacing back and forth and looking up with ears pricked as Birchfall hissed in pain as a thorn caught in his fur. As the three cats entered the camp, cats all around looked up and poked their heads out of dens, looking shocked.

"Lionblaze!" The golden tabby looked up at a rocky ledge to see a dark brown tabby tom standing there, his tail lashing. At his shoulder stood a ginger she-cat, her eyes wide as she watched the three cats. The tabby tom bounded down to Lionblaze and overlooked Birchfall, his eyes narrowed with concerned. "What happened?"

"Bring Birchfall to my den before you make your report!" A silver tabby snapped, coming up to Lionblaze's side. Lionblaze nodded and began to drag Birchfall towards a bramble screened den with the silver tabby following, his tail flicking. Whitewing turned back to the dark tabby and began the report.

"Another mini monster." She said shakily. "It caught us off guard; we thought we were running away from it, but it tackled Birchfall and he hit a tree. We think he broke his leg…but the twoleg that was on its back came up to him; I-I thought it was going to hurt him, so I attacked…it looked scared, to be honest. The twoleg couldn't have been older than an apprentice." She continued, her tail lowered. The tabby nodded, his tail flicking.

"Anything else?"

"Not really…The monster ran away not long afterwards, heading towards Windclan territory." She relayed.

"Alright. Squirrelflight," the tabby continued, turning towards the ginger she-cat beside him, "I want you to take a patrol around and make sure the mini monster is gone. Travel by trees, I don't want anymore cats getting hurt." He meowed. She nodded and trotted off, flicking her tail towards two warriors before bounding out of the hollow. He turned back to Whitewing.

"Go to Jayfeather's den and get checked over."

"Thank you Bramblestar." The white warrior meowed, dipping her head before swiftly making her way towards the bramble screen. She entered the den as Lionblaze came out and trotted towards Bramblestar.

"Whitewing told me what had happened." Bramblestar meowed as Lionblaze came up to his side.

"To be honest, I don't think that twoleg meant to hurt Birchfall." Lionblaze mused, his hear flicking. Bramblestar gave him a questioning look, and he continued. "When she first hit Birchfall, it looks like she made the monster stop and ran up to him. By the look of it, she looked really worried, but before she could do anything Whitewing attacked her."

"Are you sympathizing for the twoleg?" Bramblestar asked, cocking his head towards Lionblaze.

"No, I'm just saying…maybe twolegs aren't as bad as we thought. I mean, she wanted to help by the looks of it…she was being gentle, I think. She and the monster ran away soon after Whitewing scratched her." Lionblaze meowed, blinking. Bramblestar sighed, shaking his head.

"We'll never know what twolegs are thinking." He said, standing up. "Go and rest; I'm sure you're tired after your ordeal." Lionblaze dipped his head and started towards the warriors den, while Bramblestar turned and made his way back up the rocky slope to his den and pushed his way inside.

Jayfeather sat beside Birchfall's nest, listening to the rhythmic breathing of the tom. He had bound his leg with rush and cobwebs, and given poppy seeds for the pain. He was finally asleep, after spending a good while assuring Whitewing that he was going to be fine.

Jayfeather sighed and padded to his nest, curling down into the moss and wrapping his tail over his nose. Too much has been going on lately; what with the mini monsters running through the forest, and a fox being scented so close to camp a few days ago. Not to mention Cinderheart kitting just yesterday, so the hunt for the fox is also accompanied by the worries of her.

_Things just need to calm down a little,_ he thought, shutting his eyes. Not even a heartbeat later a breeze stirred his fur, and he blinked open his eyes. Sunlight streamed down between the trees above him as he sat up and looked around, ears twitching. Odd, Starclan hasn't visited him outside the moonpool in a long time…

Standing up, he walked forward, stopping as a dark gray she-cat thrust her head through the undergrowth ahead of him, her ragged fur bristling slightly. "Yellowfang." Jayfeather greeted, taking a step back and dipping his head.

"No time for introductions." She hissed, jerking her head towards the trees and starting towards them, flicking her tail for him to follow. Blinking, he followed her quietly, holding his tongue despite the string of questions that had formed in his head. Finally, after a few long, silent moments, Jayfeather broke the silence.

"Is something wrong?" Yellowfang stopped and rounded on Jayfeather, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Something is VERY wrong, Jayfeather." She began, her voice low and calm. "Trouble is coming our way."

"More trouble from the Dark Forest?" Jayfeather asked, blinking. Surely they wouldn't cause trouble again after all the damage that was done…? But Yellowfang shook her head.

"No, it is a different kind of trouble…" She trailed off and looked away worriedly, her tail lashing.

"What is it?" Jayfeather pressed, feeling frustration building up. _Spit it out already! _Yellowfang looked back at him, her eyes distant as she spoke.

"A warrior of different birth will light the way to peace." Her voice seemed to float around in the air for a moment as the dream faded.

"What?" Jayfeather called, springing to his paws. But the forest was fading quickly, and darkness slammed over his vision as he sprang up, panting.

"Something wrong?" A groggy voice from a nest close by asked, and Jayfeather heard a shuffling sound. Quickly smoothing his fur, he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No, just had a weird dream." He meowed to the she-cat, brushing past her. He felt her claw snag his tail gently, and he turned and glared at her.

"I can see _something's_ wrong." She meowed, hauling herself out of her nest. Jayfeather shook his head again.

"I need to speak with Bramblestar." He meowed quickly, heading towards the bramble screen again. "Keep an eye on Birchfall, Briarlight."

"Alright." The she-cat replied, obviously not convinced that it was just a dream. Jayfeather didn't care at the moment; pushing out of the brambles, he padded quickly through the cool air and towards Bramblestar's den.

"Bramblestar!" He hissed at the den entrance, his claws scraping the ground in anticipation.

"Jayfeather?" The groggy voice of Bramblestar drifted through the den, and, without waiting for an okay to enter, he pushed his way inside, tail lashing. "What is it? Is Birchfall alright?" Bramblestar asked, sitting up. Squirrelflight stirred beside him, and Jayfeather shook his head.

"Birchfall is doing fine."

"Then what is it you wanted?" Jayfeather took a deep breath, hesitant to relay the dream to him.

"I received a prophecy from Starclan." Surprise flooded from Squirrelflight, while Bramblestar nodded slowly.

"Go on." He prompted, wide awake now. As Jayfeather retold what had happened in the dream, he could sense both cats in front of him becoming tenser.

"A warrior of different blood…" Squirrelflight mused, her tail brushing across the ground. "What do you think that means?"

"I don't know…" Jayfeather replied quietly, his tail twitching. "All I know is that more trouble is coming for the clans."

"Do you have any idea what kind of trouble?" Bramblestar asked hesitantly. Jayfeather shook his head.

"I don't."

Bramblestar huffed slightly, his claws picking at the moss underpaw. Finally he stood up, twitching his tail. "Alright. No sense worrying over it if we don't know what it means." Jayfeather opened his mouth to protest, but closed it as Bramblestar continued. "I want you to report any more signs that you receive to me as soon as possible. If you figure out what it means, then I want to know." Jayfeather nodded, and, with a flick from Bramblestar's tail, backed out of the den.

He padded down the rocky slope, his fur brushing the side of the wall as he went. What exactly did it mean, a warrior of different blood? Does that mean that a new cat would be joining the clan? A kittypet, or a rogue? Shaking his head, he padded back into his den, ignoring the questions from Briarlight, and settled into his nest again.

_No sense worrying over it right now…_He thought, closing his eyes again. Why couldn't Starclan be straight forward with their prophecies?


	3. Chapter 1

**EDIT EDIT EDIT: asdf So, when I uploaded this chapter last night, I hadn't realized I'd uploaded the wrong file; the first draft of it. So, here's the RIGHT chapter this time; XD Nothing really changed except for near the end. Where? I won't say~! You may need to read and find out yourself! X33  
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**I'm in the process of writing the next chapter now, just an FYI ^^  
**

**Thanks~!  
**

Chapter 1

Claire led a pretty normal life, for the most part. Living with her mom and dad in a quiet neighborhood, going to a good school, with after school activities to keep her occupied in the boring evenings. (She didn't like watching TV or playing video games much, she was more for reading or going outside to do stuff.) Typical Mary-Sue life, she had thought.

Now, sitting on the edge of a deep ditch, her leg bleeding heavily, head pounding, with an overturned four-wheeler sitting behind her, she thought back to just where her life went haywire. She knew instantly; it was a few days ago, when she'd hit a cat in the forest with the four-wheeler. She remembered everything that had happened very clearly…

It started with her parents deciding to pay a visit to Claire's grandparents. Claire didn't mind, really; the only thing she didn't like was that they put her to work doing chores around the house. From the moment she had arrived, they put her to work; which was okay, at first, but the chores ranged from doing the dishes to helping feed the horses to picking weeds in the yard. She hated it. But, if she finished it all, she would be allowed to ride the four-wheeler around before nightfall.

As she had finished doing the dishes, the last chore on the list, she checked in with her grandpa, got the keys to the shed and the four-wheeler, and had hurried out before they found something more for her to do. The shed, unlike everything else, was right up beside the house, luckily. (Gardening tools and pretty much everything else were kept in the barn, almost a mile's walk away.)

As Claire unlocked the shed and opened the doors, a faint meow from behind her made her stop. Turning, she saw a blue-gray she-cat sitting on the ground a few yards away, its blue gaze watching her intently. She looked around, blinking slowly. Nobody really lived around here beside her grandparents, and they didn't have any cats. Maybe it was wild?

Dropping onto her knees, Claire held a hand out towards the cat and called softly, "Here kitty, kitty!" The cat made no indication to move towards her or to run away. She moved a little closer. Still, the cat sat motionless, blinking slowly and cocking its head a little. Claire sat back on her knees, watching the cat. "Are you hungry? Do you want something?" She asked, knowing well enough that the cat couldn't answer.

Maybe Claire was just seeing things, but she could've sworn the cat had smiled; its head shook from side to side slowly, and she cocked her head again. Claire blinked. Did it…understand her? She rubbed her eyes and looked back towards where the cat was.

But it was gone.

Looking around, there wasn't a single trace of the cat anywhere; odd, because there weren't any bushes nearby, and absolutely nowhere to hide on the flat stretch of ground. _Maybe I'm seeing things,_ she decided, turning and opening the shed once again. She heard another meow, and ignored it this time, putting it off as her mind playing with her. A moment later something pricked her ankle, and she looked down.

There was nothing there. _This is getting weird…_she thought, looking around nervously again. Something was stuck under her shoe; bending down, she picked up a leaf and examined it. The dark leaves were spiked and smooth to the touch, and a red berry hung at the end of it. It was…

A holly leaf?

Dropping it, Claire stepped into the shed and got onto the nearest four-wheeler. If her mind was going to play with her, then fine. She was just going to ignore whatever it had to show. After fumbling with the keys for a few moments, the engine roared to life, and she sped away from the house and headed towards the hills.

The wind whipped her dark hair around behind her head and made her eyes water as she sped over a rise, around a bush, and onto the rolling hills. It felt good to have some speed, and to be away from all the chores. She stood up as she went, seeing the tree line ahead and speeding up even more. The forest surrounding the lake had always been a favorite spot for Claire; she hadn't visited it within the last four years, and she was _dying_ to see it again.

Something flickered on the edge of her vision, and she pulled to a stop, searching the hedges and trees closely. Finally, she spotted it; it was the blue gray cat again, watching her with intent eyes. The two stared at each other for a few long moments before Claire revved the engine and sped away again. Something about that cat weirded her out…it wasn't normal.

She slowed down as she came upon the small ditch that pretty much separated the hills from the forest and passed under the canopy of trees. She felt a sense of comfort wash over her; she didn't know what it was about the forest, but it felt good. The smell of the green forest, the thick undergrowth and tree tops blocking the intense heat…

Moving along a hidden trail, she let her mind wander. Where had that blue cat come from? Did it belong to somebody, and just…ran away? That really wouldn't make sense, because it looked well fed and well groomed, yet it had the look of an alley cat. Maybe it was just looking for a home? And just where had it gone when she had looked away earlier? If it had run away, she would've seen it; the blue fur stuck out against the pale yellow and green grass.

Maybe it was just hungry, and was looking for food. It could've run behind the shed when she wasn't looking. _I'll leave a plate of leftovers out for it tonight,_ she thought, nodding to herself. Her attention snapped back to reality as the bushes nearby rustled violently, and a cat burst out of the bushes. She let out a cry of alarm before slamming on the breaks, but it was too late. There was a dull thump, a shriek of pain, and finally, a sickening crack.

The engine rumbled dully as I stood up shakily and looked towards where the cat was. Its light tabby fur was matted and spiked in some places, and it watching me with wide eyes. The worst part, though, was its leg; twisted at an odd angle, I could tell it was damaged badly and possibly broken, and that made me feel sick.

I quickly got off the four-wheeler and walked towards the cat, calling softly so I didn't scare it more. Before I had gotten much closer, though, a howl sounded from the bushes and a white cat sped out, slashing at my hand. I jerked backwards in surprise as its claws made contact, and I watched as a bead of blood slowly trickled down the back of my hand. The cat stood over the other one, fur fluffed out, and it snarled, lunging again.

Its teeth snapped shut where my hand had been as I jumped backwards, scrambling back onto the four-wheeler. Another cat stepped out of the bushes, a big golden tabby, and I pulled my legs up as the white cat advanced again. The golden tabby meowed loudly, and the white cat stopped; throwing a last glare at Claire, it turned back to the light brown tabby and touched its nose to its forehead.

The golden tabby stood in front of the two protectively, watching Claire with narrowed eyes as its claws slid out and its fur began to spike. Without hesitating she put the four-wheeler in reverse and shot backwards, then sped away from the forest.

…

Since then, Claire had patrolled the forest slowly, looking for the cat she'd hurt. She wanted to make sure it was okay, and that it didn't die because of her actions. She heard faint rustles in the trees or bushes every now and then, but nothing more; she made sure she went extra slow, and kept a watchful eye out for any signs of the cats she'd seen.

The one that she did see, though, was the blue gray cat. It appeared more frequently than before, showing up at the most random times and disappearing without a trace. Claire didn't really know it if was real; she thought it might've been a figment of her imagination at that point, since it would sit and watch her, then just…be gone.

Finally, on the last day of her patrol before returning back to her parents' house (today), Claire went deeper into the forest; she reached a small clearing where the trees turned to pine trees and drove around there for a while before going back. She drove all the way around the lake, looking for any signs of cats. She thought she saw something in the lake, but when she looked it was just a ripple on the water and put it off as a fish. Claire had finally given up, and turned to go back to her grandparents' when it happened.

"Hollykit!" A voice shrieked the name in the back of her head and she slammed on the brakes, eyes wide as she looked around for where the voice had come from. Suddenly, her vision blurred and her surroundings changed; instead of the lush green forest, a tall rock wall spread out ahead of her. A huge dark figure loomed over her, and, before she could react, it lunged forward.

Searing pain lanced up her left leg and she wailed as whatever had attacked her lifted her off the ground and ran. She could hear more voices screaming in terror and rage, but still, the thing ran. Pain and fear coursed through her, and she flailed her arms helplessly. A wail escaped from her, and a sudden jolt made her fall onto her back.

She was back by the lake on her four-wheeler.

Well not on the four-wheeler, but on the ground beside it. Instantly her hands went to her thigh, feeling for pain or blood, but there was nothing; the pain had ebbed and she was left panting on her back. She sat up slowly and looked around, blinking. _What the heck was that?_

Standing up shakily, she got back on the four-wheeler and started back home, going slower this time. She wasn't sure if that had really happened or not; maybe her mind was toying with her again. Her mind began to wander again as she crossed the small ditch and began to head towards the sloping hills. Maybe this was all just…a dream. Maybe she had just gone around the lake a few times, and she had been so bored her mind came up with something to entertain it?

It was an answer she was all too ready to accept. She didn't want to believe that she had hit a cat with a four-wheeler; she didn't want to believe that she'd just had that weird vision, or that she kept seeing that blue cat everywhere.

"_This is all real, Holly."_ A sudden voice in Claire's head made her swerve and she took a shuddering breath to calm herself. _Its okay, everything is okay; it's not real._

"_It is real, Holly." _The voice scared Claire again, but this time she pressed harder onto the gas pedal, narrowing her eyes.

"Who are you?" Claire asked herself quietly, tightening her grip on the handle bars.

"_My name is Bluestar."_ The voice said, softer this time.

"Why do you keep calling me Holly?" Claire asked. She felt silly talking with herself like this; she didn't know if she was going crazy, or what. But it was worth a shot, right? Bluestar was quiet for a while, and Claire tightened her grip on the handle bars again.

"_Because it is your destiny."_ Bluestar said quietly. Claire cocked an eyebrow, rolling her eyes a little.

"Destiny, huh? What does that mean? Am I destined for greatness?" Claire asked sarcastically, her mouth twitching up into a smirk for a moment.

"_In a way, yes. But not in the way that you are thinking." _Bluestar said. There was a sound like wind whistling in Claire's ears, and her attention snapped back to her surroundings.

And she screamed.

Ahead of her was a wide ditch, too big to cross, too close to avoid. With a sudden lurch forward the front tires fell into it, and Claire slammed forward as well. The momentum from it sent the four-wheeler toppling forward, and Claire screamed again as she fell forward with the four-wheeler crashing on top of her. The engine stuttered and stalled before stopping completely, and silence fell.

Claire's head pounded as she lay there, trying to process what had happened. The four-wheeler made breathing hard, and, with some effort, she managed to shimmy out from under it and sat in the ditch, putting her head in her hands. She realized that her leg was soaked, and looked down to see her jeans torn and bloody; a huge gash was on her leg, stretching from her calf to her knee. She touched it gently, sucking in a sharp breath and biting her tongue to make sure she didn't scream in pain.

And there she was. Thinking back over everything that had happened within the last few days, she realized that there was possibly something going on…something that she was apart of. Either that, or she was just going crazy and needed to be checked into a psychiatric ward. Looking back at the four-wheeler, Claire heaved a sigh. It was battered and caked with mud, with blood smears down the side and dents all over. Her grandpa would freak if he saw it right now.

It suddenly hit her that it was almost midday; she had left the house early this morning, just after sunrise. Using a nearby tree, she pulled herself up to her feet, unsteadily standing with her leg pulled up so she didn't put weight on it. She had to get home soon…with this leg, she'd be lucky if she made it back before nightfall. Maybe if she hurried up the slope, she could-

Her train of thought stopped as she gazed around at her surroundings. She was in an unfamiliar part of the forest; the trees were sparse, bushes dotted the place, and the ground was dark with mud. Looking back, she saw nothing that looked familiar. Everything looked the same here, but she had no idea where she was. So, to top it off, she was lost now, and was loosing a lot of blood fast.

She began to limp along the ditch she'd fallen into, moving away from the four-wheeler and looking for anything that might seem familiar. A moss covered rock? A familiar patch of trees? Stopping, she looked back towards the four-wheeler once more. Maybe she could backtrack, and find a trail of-

A sudden snarl somewhere nearby made her jump, and she had to grab the tree nearest to her to keep from falling over. The snarl was quickly followed by a loud wail, and Claire's breath caught in her throat. The snarl sounded canine; possibly a dog or a coyote. And the wail…it sounded like a cat. _Oh my god. What if that's the cat I hit? What if that wolf or coyote or whatever had gotten it?!_ She thought, looking around wildly.

She followed where the snarl had come from, limping as fast as she could, and looked up to see a small rise with a path that spiraled upwards steadily, then disappeared over the lip of the rise. She saw the tip of a tail disappear through the bushes and head downwards, and she started after it. She knew it was stupid to go after whatever that was, but…what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just _leave_ the poor cat!

She stumbled up the rise and peered down into the clearing. It looked like a big hollowed out bowl, with a pool at the far edge that had a tiny waterfall feeding into it. In the center of the clearing stood a fox, with something small and black clamped in its jaws. Anger welled up in Claire as she realized that the fox hadn't gotten the cat she'd hurt; it'd gotten a kitten!

Grabbing a few rocks that were nearby and a big stick, she started down the slope, stumbling slightly. The first rock she threw at the fox hit its leg, and it swung around and glared at her with cold eyes. The kitten in its grasp moved slightly, and blood dripped down onto the ground. The fox snarled at Claire, but she threw more rocks, trying her best not to hit the kitten.

The fox hopped around, dodging the rocks she threw, until one finally hit it between the eyes. It yelped and dropped the kitten, which was now forgotten as the fox rounded on Claire, snarling. Out of rocks to throw, she swung the stick around, limping towards the fox. "Go away! Leave this cat alone!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Her legs shook with the effort but she stayed upright, determined to drive the fox away.

Finally, with a whimper, it gave up and darted back up the slope and disappeared over the rise. Claire, weak with relief (and possibly blood loss), dropped onto her hands and knees, panting. She was close enough to the pool of water to look at herself, and she saw that she was considerably pale from blood loss. She looked back at the kitten and began to crawl towards it, trying to push away the nausea and dizziness that made her head pound.

With a grunt she fell onto her stomach, a hand reaching towards the kitten. Her fingertips just grazed the cat's soft fur, before she gave way to unconsciousness and everything spun away into a dizzying darkness.

…

Warmth on her face woke Claire up, and she sat up and rubbed her head. An echo of pain ran across her leg, and she looked down at it, but saw nothing. What she did see, though, was grass underneath her legs. Looking up sharply, she realized she was sitting in the forest, and she was almost completely healed.

She struggled and tried to get up to her feet, but movement felt slow and sluggish and it made her head spin.

"Sit down before you hurt yourself." A ragged voice said behind her. Claire turned to see three cats standing in front of the bushes, their fur sparkling…with stars? Without thinking, Claire seated herself again and stared at the cats. There was an old looking dark gray Persian cat, its face flattened and scars crisscrossing along its fur, a big ginger tom with sparkling green eyes, and a smaller cat standing in between them; Claire's eyes widened as she realized it was the kit in the small hollow, its fluffy smoky gray fur spiked, blue eyes wide and sparkling.

"What…" Claire started, but was silenced by the flick of the gray cat's tail.

"There isn't much time to talk." The cat hissed. Claire realized this cat was a girl, and she nodded as she continued. "Your destiny has been set out for you long ago, before you were born. You are destined to become a warrior."

"What does that mean?" Claire asked nervously. The gray she-cat flicked her tail over the black kitten's ears.

"Unfortunately, as you saw, this kit was taken by the fox. The wounds she received were fatal, unfortunately." She rasped, her voice adding a hint of sympathy. "As was the wound on your leg."

"Wait…You mean…?" Claire stuttered, trying to make sense of the cat's words. She nodded somberly.

"That you were both destined to die." Claire felt sick, as she looked around. The bright greenness, the warmth, the lack of pain…

"Does this mean I'm in heaven?" She asked nervously. The ginger cat took a step forward blinking slowly.

"This is Starclan; it is the equivalent to your twoleg 'heaven'." He meowed evenly. "Unfortunately, both yours and Hollykit's fate has been written for a long time." Claire looked down at the kit, who blinked and smiled up at her. "Claire, you must take on the life of Hollykit and live as a warrior." The ginger tom continued.

"What do you mean I must?" Claire asked, feeling defensive. She didn't _have_ to do anything!

"What he's saying is that you can't live without the other." The gray cat cut in, her tail lashing. When Claire gave her a confused look, she sighed and growled, "If you don't do this, you both die. If you do, you both live, but you sacrifice your life as a twoleg."

Claire sat and stared at the three cats for a few long moments, her mind racing. "B-but…I…I don't…" she stuttered, not really knowing what she was trying to say. The small kit stepped forward now, looking up at Claire shyly.

"I want to ask you to do this as a favor." She squeaked nervously, though she sounded sure of her words as she spoke. "I don't want to leave my brothers and mom and dad…I want you to go back with them so I don't have to leave them. They'll miss me and I don't want them to be sad." She continued, looking down.

"But…I don't know anything about your home, or your family!" Claire protested. The gray cat stepped forward again, and the kit shuffled backwards.

"That part has been taken care of." She stated, nodding to the kit again. "When it happens, your memories will be merged with hers; you'll be her and you in one, but still be you in a sense." She continued. Claire swallowed, trying to think.

"So, let me get this straight; I'm to become this cat here to save both of our lives. I will have my memories and hers, but I will be my own cat…?" She asked. The gray cat hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Yes, and no." Claire cocked an eyebrow, and she continued. "You'll be given Hollykit's memories and her body, and yes, you will live out your own life and make your own decisions, not Hollykit. But…" She stopped and looked Claire straight in the face. "We'll need to take away your memories of being a twoleg." Claire stared at the cat again, confused.

"So…I'll…I won't remember my mom or dad or…anything?" She asked slowly. Both the ginger tom and the gray she-cat nodded. That was it. Claire had had enough. She curled her hands into fists and glared at the cats. "No! I want to remember my parents! I want to remember everything! I want to keep my memories!" She yelled.

"You don't have a choice!" The gray she-cat spat, her fur bristling along her spine.

"Yes, I do!" Claire retorted, starting to get up to her feet. "I don't have to do this! You said it yourself, it's this or die." All three cats' widened their eyes in surprise, and Claire, now on her feet, turned on her heel angrily. "At least when I'm dead I'll remember my own parents!"

"Wait!" The ginger tom jumped in front of Claire, his eyes wide. Claire stopped and waited, huffing. If they were going to try and pull something on her, then she'd just…she didn't know. Leave? The ginger tom looked over at the gray she-cat, his eyes hard. "She can keep her memory." He said, lashing his tail before the gray she-cat could utter a word. "IF, she doesn't do anything to give her away."

"As in, you don't want me to go and tell all the cats that I'm human?" Claire asked. The ginger tom nodded, watching the gray she-cat. She sat stiffly, her shoulders hunched slightly, before she slowly nodded.

"It might help…" she muttered to herself, thinking. She stared back at the ginger tom questioningly, and he gave a curt nod. She sighed and stood up, stalking towards Claire. "Sit down." She ordered. Unsure, Claire obeyed, watching the cats apprehensively. The gray she-cat watched her for a few moments longer before sitting down again, her tail wrapping neatly over her paws.

"If you want to keep your memory, then you must make a promise to Starclan." She growled, as if the idea still angered her. (Which it probably did, but Claire didn't care; if there was a way to keep her memory, she was okay.) "You must promise to do all you can for your clan. Don't be deterred from doing things just because you think you can't because you're a twoleg." Claire nodded as the cat continued. "You must keep this a secret; no matter how much you want to tell someone, whether you become close friends with someone or something else, you tell no one; unless you have direct permission from a Starclan warrior. Do you understand?" Claire nodded again.

The gray she-cat stood up again and walked back to the ginger tom's side. Claire turned to see the kit walking towards her again, staring up at Claire with her wide blue eyes.

"Stay still, and close your eyes." She meowed. Claire obeyed, sitting stiffly. A moment later she felt a dull pain in the back of her head and a tingling feeling ran from her head to her toes; she felt herself growing smaller, her arms and legs contorting and changing. Her ears changed as well, and they felt as if they moved up from the side of her head to the top; she felt her face lengthen, and a muzzle formed.

After a few moments, the feeling stopped. Claire opened her eyes slightly, and they grew wide a moment later. Everything was so HUGE! The cats standing before her were now a good three or four times taller than her; the trees and undergrowth towered over her head, and nothing seemed real. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden rush of thoughts and images rushed through her head and her mouth shut with a snap.

The whole of the kit's life so far was flashing through her mind. From the moment she was born, and she felt her mother pull her to her side; her father's deep rumbling purr as he saw them for the first time; the first time she opened her eyes, and was staring back at the clear blue eyes of her mother; tussling in play fights with her brothers; meeting the leader for the first time; watching as a cat was brought into camp on the back of her father; hearing the shrieks of terror as the huge form of the fox tore its way into her home; being backed into the corner of camp, fear pulsing through her; feeling pain tear through her leg and shrieking in fear, hearing her mother and father screaming her name; and finally, the fox dropping her in the middle of the small hollow, fear tearing through it as Claire's form swung the stick back and forth, driving it off.

Claire's eyes opened again and she gasped. The gray she-cat nodded slowly and stepped forward, coming up to her and crouching so she was eye level. "You have seen the life if this kit, and now you will continue that life. Make the right decisions, Claire. From this moment on, you will be known as Hollykit." She touched her nose to Hollykit's forehead, and she smiled slightly. She blinked again as everything began to spin away into darkness, and the she-cat's voice echoed one last time in her head before everything went dark.

"Welcome to Thunderclan, Hollykit."

**A/N:: Haha, long chapter X'DD But I needed it to be long, so I could get the whole of the intro in. (It was supposed to be a LOT longer, but I figured I'd need to cut it off somewhere ^^ )  
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**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**

**-Another note, sometimes I forget I'm writing in 3rd person, so there may be a few slip ups here and there where I use "I" instead of "She" or "her" and so on ^^; feel free to point those out so I can fix them, thanks~!**


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Claire groaned. Her head was pounding as harsh sunlight filtered into the room and shown on her face, and she shut her eyes tighter. Had her room always been this light in the mornings? Screwing her eyes up, she reached around for her blanket, sighing in exasperation when she didn't find it. She probably kicked it off the bed again…Sitting up, she opened her eyes to tiny slits and began to look for her blanket. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized something.

She wasn't in her bedroom.

And she wasn't supposed to have _paws!_

Claire sucked in a sharp breath, biting her tongue to keep from shrieking in alarm. She looked around nervously, spotting a pool of water directly opposite of her, and she crawled towards it, flinching slightly as pain seared up her left leg. She ignored it, too scared to look back over herself. Peering into the pool of water, she blinked, too shocked for words or sound.

Staring back at her was a cat; large triangular shaped ears that tapered to soft points flattened against her head, clear blue eyes widened in shock, dark nose twitching with disbelief…

Claire slowly raised a paw to her muzzle and brushed the pad against her nose. Her whiskers twitched irritably, then changed to amusement. She slowly began to look herself over, keeping her jaws shut tight to keep from making sounds. Dark smoky black fur covered her frame, lightening to a dark ash gray at her paws, chest and stomach, and tail tip. Her left leg (err, haunch) was wrapped up in some kind of bandage thing, but it looked like…spiderwebs? Claire shuffled backwards, onto a mossy part of the floor, and sat for a few moments, thinking.

_Last night was just a dream…how could this have happened?_ She thought, looking down. _There has to be a reason for this…people don't just get turned into cats, BY cats! Maybe…maybe I died after the four-wheeler flipped…_she wondered, narrowing her eyes. It was a better explanation than her being turned into a kitten!

"_You are here because Starclan has given you a second chance, Hollykit."_ A voice in Claire's head made her jump, and she whipped her head around wildly. _Wh-what?_

"_You are here now, as a cat, because Starclan saved you from death." _The voice repeated. Claire faintly recognized the voice from last night, but she couldn't remember who's it was, and she cocked her head to the side slightly. _H-How? What is Starclan?_

"_Starclan are the heavenly warrior ancestors of the four clans. They watch over the cats and protect them, offering help any way they can in times of need or danger." _The voice explained.

_How am I a cat though?_ Claire pressed.

"_You and Hollykit were destined to die last night." _The voice began hesitantly. _"I myself am not entirely clear on the process…But Starclan has granted you a second chance now."_

_But…as a cat?_

"_It was the only way. If I were you, I'd be glad to have a second chance, no matter what animal." _The voice quipped. Claire twitched her whiskers irritably. So, in order for her to live at all, she needed to give up her life as a human, and become a cat…

_I…I guess it isn't all that bad…_she conceited, standing up and waving her tail back and forth. _I've always loved cats, and wondered how it was to be one…_she stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing a little. _But…am I just supposed to give up my name?_

"_Unfortunately, yes." _The voice murmured. _"You are no longer Claire, but Hollykit." _

_But…how am I supposed to remember? I hardly even remember whenever teachers call me by my real name instead of Claire! _She protested.

"_Don't forget, you have Hollykit's memories as well as your own. You will remember your name."_

_But…what about other cats? Like family and friends or something?_

"_That is something that will come naturally."_

_Like instincts?_

"_Exactly. Instincts such as walking and so on will come naturally as well." _The voice continued, as if reading Claire's thoughts. (For all she knew, it probably could.) Again, Claire sat back and thought. Hmm. None of this seemed real. She was sure that any moment now, her grandmother would be shaking her shoulder to get her up for chores. But no; somehow, deep down, she knew this was real.

Looking back down at her paws, she held one of them up and turned the pad up. She sat there for a long time, unsheathing and sheathing her claws, flicking and moving her tail back and forth, twitching and swiveling her ears, stretching her legs and walking (as best as she could with her back leg wrapped up; it was stiff and hurt painfully if she put pressure on it). _So I guess…from now on I'm Hollykit,_ she mused, thinking as she settled down onto the moss again.

From somewhere in the back of her mind, a memory surfaced; a dark ginger tom kit was sitting beside her, complaining to a big dark gray form in her peripheral vision.

"But mom! It's too crowded to play in here!" He whined. "Why can't we play in the hollow instead? Hollykit hasn't seen it yet!"

"No!" Another voice meowed sternly, though there was a soft touch in it. (Somewhere in her subconscious, Claire knew it was Hollykit's – err, _her_ – mother.) "A fox was scented dangerously close to camp, and if it knows that there are kits then it's more likely to attack!" Her mother continued.

"But Nettlekit was out there talking to Purdy earlier!" The tom kit argued.

"And he's been punished for that. But you aren't going to just because he did! Please, do-" she never finished her sentence. A wail from outside the den (a different den, Claire noted) sounded, followed by a loud crashing and a vicious snarl.

Claire gasped as the memory faded, and she was left with her fur bristling and ears flattened to her head. It was the fox; the one that had taken Hollykit. The one she'd scared away as a human. Panting slightly, she took a slow breath and forced her fur to flatten. For the first time since she'd woken up, she looked around at the den.

Sunlight filtered in through the den entrance, half hidden by a screen of brambles and lighting up the walls of the den. A good portion of the floor was covered in circular moss patches, looking almost like beds. Beside the pool of water, leaves were laid out in a neat row, an odd smell coming from them that made Claire curl her lip. Ugh. It reminded her of the nasty medicine she'd had to take when she was sick or something. Near the back of the den, in the darkest part, a crack split the wall, widening out just enough for a cat to fit inside; beside that, Claire realized, were three big forms, rising and falling in a slow rhythm.

Sighing slowly, Claire set her head down on her paws and began to think again. This was all too surreal; don't get her wrong, Claire was actually enjoying the thought of being a cat. She was sure that she'd died and this was all just some…fantasy, or something, that she was going through…or something.

She narrowed her eyes a little, her ear twitching. She thought she'd heard…voices? Sitting up with her ears pricked, she stared out through the bramble screen. All she could see was another rocky wall, as well as more brambles and a bush, but the voices sounded close by…

"Sandstorm, take Ivypool, Toadstep, and Bumblestripe to check the Shadowclan boarder again." A voice, a woman by the sound of it, stated.

"I hope there's a Shadowclan patrol so I can shred their fur!" A boy growled, his voice getting quieter. Claire cocked her head. Shadowclan? Was that supposed to be like Thunderclan? And just how many cats were there?

"You look confused." A voice behind Claire made her jump, and she whipped around to see one of the cats sitting just beside the moss, a silver tabby with brilliant blue eyes. His whiskers twitched in amusement before he bent down closer towards her. Claire shied away, blinking nervously. What did he want?

"How does your leg feel?" He asked, leaning back a little. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. The tom cocked his head to the side, tail tip twitching. "Well?"

"F-fine." Claire finally managed to squeak.

"Can you put any pressure on it?" He asked, turning away.

"N-no…" He grunted in response, turning to the leaves he'd set out. Claire blinked and looked down at her paws. _Okay. First, wake up as a cat; next, talk to a voice in your head. Finally, to top it off, you just had a conversation with a _real_ cat. This is either the weirdest dream ever, or the freakiest way to spend a morning, _Claire decided. The tom stopped and looked up from what he was doing, ear twitching slightly, before he stood up and trotted towards the bramble screen. A moment later another cat appeared; a dark gray she-cat with wide, worried blue eyes.

"Cinderheart." The tom meowed, nodding curtly.

"I want to see Hollykit." The she-cat meowed, her ears flattened slightly. The tom took a step back and flicked his tail towards Claire. The she-cat looked at Claire, and relief flooded her gaze as she rushed forward. "Oh, Hollykit! I'm so glad you're okay!" She meowed, stopping beside Claire and nuzzling the top of her head.

Claire flattened her ear slightly, shutting one of her eyes as Cinderheart nuzzled her. "How injured is her leg? She will be okay, right?" She asked, pulling away from Hollykit and looking up at the silver tabby.

"If she gets enough rest and doesn't strain it, it should be fine." He meowed over his shoulder without looking up. Claire looked up at the gray she-cat, cocking her head slightly. This cat, Cinderheart, was…her mother? _At least she's nice…and actually cares that I'm hurt,_ she thought, remembering her real, human mother, who only cared when they thought Claire had broken her arm during gym in sixth grade. (It was only a fracture, and her mother hardly did anything except yell about the hospital bill about 'something that could've been fixed herself.') Claire seethed with anger at the memory, but forced it back down as Cinderheart touched her nose to her forehead.

"I need to go before Firekit and Nettlekit start causing trouble for Dovewing." She murmured, looking up at the silver tabby for a moment. "I'll be back later to see you again." She straightened up and trotted out of the den with a last glance over her shoulder at Claire.

Claire watched her go, blinking slowly. _Maybe being a cat won't be so bad…_she thought, flexing her claws again. _Maybe I can find out how I turned into a cat if I stay…and if I can turn back and get back to my normal life. So, as of right now, I guess…Claire Grove is dead._

**AN:: AHAHAHAHAA sorry for the delay for this...and if it seems a little rushed o.o;; I was planning on having it up Friday, but due to some unexpected plans to visit a family member. As for it being rushed/sloppily written, I'm sorry. I wrote and rewrote this chapter about...four times? And I wasn't happy with it any of those times. Finally I got this, and it's decent enough in my opinion, so I wanted to get it up before I changed my mind X'DDD**_  
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**Again, sorry~! And Don't forget to R&R~! 3  
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	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Something prodded Claire's shoulder, and she mumbled and snuggled deeper into the bed. "I dun wan-get up." She muttered groggily as whoever prodded her again.

"Hollykit, I need to check your leg." A voice hissed in her ear. Hollykit? Who was calling her that? How did they know about her dream…?

Claire's eyes opened and she sat up suddenly, making her head swim a little. Staring at her, looking a little confused, was the silver tabby tom from earlier. Claire's eyes widened. _I…I thought…it was just a dream…_she thought, her eyes widening. So it _was_ real!

"Hollykit!"

"Huh?" Claire snapped her attention back to the silver tom, blinking.

"I asked if your leg was sore." He said, sighing in exasperation.

"N-no, it's fine." She murmured, shaking her head. The tom nodded and walked away. Claire stared after him before unsheathing her claws again and pricking her arm with them a few times.

"Well, I'm not dreaming…" she muttered, rubbing her arm with the pad of her paw. She looked up towards the den entrance again, straining her ears. She could hear voices, but they were muted. And even so she had no idea who anybody was…

"Good morning, Hollykit!" A voice beside her made Hollykit jump, and she turned to see a dark brown she-cat watching her, her amber eyes bright. "You seem a little jumpy." _Because I almost lost my life a fox, thanks!_ Hollykit thought, biting back the retort. "It's good to see you awake again, though." The she-cat continued, settling down. "You were out for a long time after you were returned. Almost two days, actually. Lionblaze and Cinderheart were really worried, too. They thought that you were either going to die, or you'd lose your leg. But Jayfeather's a good medicine cat; you're going to be fine." She reassured, smiling a little.

"Two days?" Hollykit thought out loud, surprised. _Maybe I was still in Starclan talking to those cats at that time…?_ The she-cat nodded.

"Yup. Out cold. Jayfeather was more worried that you'd die of starvation or dehydration more so than from the fox bite." Hollykit looked down at her wrapped up leg, blinking. Huh…So either Jayfeather was a bad medicine cat (Hollykit guessed that was like a doctor or something…), or he just had a lot of faith.

"I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but I'm Briarlight." The she-cat continued, hauling herself up to her front paws and dragging herself towards the bed behind her.

"What's wrong with your legs?" Hollykit asked, surprised. Was she paralyzed, or hurt…?

"I can't use them." Briarlight meowed, still cheerful. "Whenever the tree fell into the hollow a long time ago, I was an apprentice and it fell on me."

"Does it hurt?"

"I can't feel anything in them at all." Hollykit blinked and watched her settle down in her bed. She remembered faintly seeing one of her neighbor's cats, who's back leg broke and didn't heal right, and the only option she had was to put it down…Hollykit flinched at that. Maybe at the time it seemed like the right thing to do, but now…now it was just…wrong. Maybe because she was a cat now? Or maybe it was-

"Who are you talking to?" A male voice grumbled from behind Briarlight, followed by a shuffling sound.

"Hollykit, she's awake." Briarlight meowed.

"Well some of us are trying to get some sleep!" The tom grumbled again. Briarlight rolled her eyes, looking back over at Hollykit.

"Don't mind Birchfall, he's just grumpy because his leg is sore." She meowed. "He was hit by a mini monster a few days ago; broke his back leg."

"Seems like there are too many leg injuries in the clan." The tom snorted, flopping back down onto his bed. Hollykit cocked her head to the side, confused.

"Mini monster? What's that?"  
"It's like a monster, but…smaller." Briarlight explained. Seeing the confusion on Hollykit's face, she continued, "Monsters are these huge creatures that twolegs ride around in. They are usually varying in sizes, I think, and have a lot of different colors for pelts. They're really big, and growl, and they hunt cats. They have four huge black paws, and glaring yellow eyes, but they usually stay on the Thunderpaths." She nodded near the end, glancing at Hollykit again. "Does that make sense?"

_Not really…_she thought, looking down. Big, glaring yellow eyes, huge black paws, with varying colors for their pelts…"What's a Thunderpath?"

"A Thunderpath is…uh…well, the path that monsters run on." Briarlight struggled to explain it, thinking hard. "Millie and Graystripe have seen a lot of them…they're usually hard black stone with little yellow or white markings on them." _That sounds like a road…_Hollykit thought, blinking. _So then…is a monster a car or a truck?_

"What about the mini monster, then?"

"I don't really know." Briarlight confessed, ducking her head a little bit. "I didn't see it myself."

"It was a lot smaller than a monster, and a lot different looking." Birchfall meowed, sighing and pulling himself up to a sitting up position. "The twolegs rode on top of it, rather than inside it. It was controlled by the twoleg, too, I think. It was faster, and could run through the forest." Hollykit cocked her head to the side. _That…doesn't make much sense…_ "The twoleg that was on it's back got off of it and tried to attack me." Birchfall continued. "Whitewing stopped it with Lionblaze, but…it looked scared to see all three of us there. Whitewing lunged again, and the twoleg ran back to the monster and ran away." Hollykit stiffened, her eyes widening. Now she knew why it sounded so familiar.

The mini monster was the four-wheeler; _she_ was that twoleg.

"How do you know that the twoleg was trying to hurt you?" She asked, feeling just a little defensive. Both Briarlight and Birchfall stared at her, and she ducked her head a little bit.

"It looked like it was trying to, but I guess it may've been trying to help…" He muttered, rolling his eyes. "Millie said once that the twolegs gave her some kind of herb or something, and she doesn't get as sick as the rest of us…" He snorted, lashing his tail. "But that was so she could be kept as a kittypet. Twolegs are nothing but trouble."

Hollykit looked away. What would Birchfall say if he knew that the twoleg that had broken his leg with the…'mini monster' was sitting right in front of him? _Maybe that's why the Starclan cats told me to keep that a secret…_she thought. _Who knows what they might do if they if they know I was a human? Banish me? Murder me? THEN what? _

"You seem to have a lot on your mind today." Briarlight meowed. Hollykit set her head down on her paws, thinking.

"I'm bored." She finally stated, sighing. Which in truth she was; but at the same time, she had no idea what there was to do or anything, so she was fine with it for the time being.

"I'm sure your leg will be healed up soon so you can go play with your brothers." Briarlight meowed, smiling sympathetically.

"As long as she stays off of it and doesn't strain her leg, that is." The silver tom was back, striding into the den with a bundle of leaves in his jaws.

"There's nothing to do in here anyways." Hollykit muttered, putting one paw over her nose.

"Oh, it's not that bad." Briarlight meowed. "As long as you stay out of Jayfeather's fur, that is." Jayfeather snorted at her words as he set the leaves down and began to sort them out. Hollykit didn't reply, instead snuggling down into the moss again. She idly listened to the others talk, her ears twitching occasionally, before finally falling asleep.

**AN:: Hey guys~! First off, I want to say I'm very sorry for the long wait; this chapter took a long while to figure out...(and I'm still not too proud of it =^=; )**

**ANYWAYS. It's SUPPOSED to be showing Claire's name change...if you can't tell X'3 And learning a few things from Briarlight, blah blah blah, and so on XDD  
**

**I'm sorry if this chapter is sloppy and...boring. ^^; I'm hoping to get a little more into some Clan life stuff within the next few chapters. C: Stay tuned~!  
**

**And don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	6. Chapter 4

**AN:: Sorry for the delay, I had a small bout of writer's block ^^; (As well as for my other story on here, but that's not the point...)**** Short, simple chapter, more explaining, and Hollykit's first time eating a mouse!  
**

**...*shudders*  
**

**Anyways, don't forget to R&R~!  
**

"Hollykit? HOOOOLLLYKIIIITT!"

"You said she was awake!"

"I said she _might_ be awake. And don't yell, Firekit. Birchfall is trying to sleep."

Hollykit opened her eyes to tiny slits, grumbling a little. It was a lot darker in the den than it was earlier; she guessed that it was sometime near sunset, by the looks of it. Three cats stood only a few feet away from her bed. Two kits, the ones from Hollykit's memory, stood restlessly, blinking and watching her. Cinderheart stood back a little ways, watching them closely.

"Whazzat?" Hollykit mumbled, lifting her head a little. One of the kits, the dark ginger tom (who she remembered as Firekit) jumped to his paws, his fur fluffing up with excitement.

"Finally, you're awake!" He squeaked. "We've been waiting for ages!" The other tom, a light silver one with dark gray patches, stood up too, his eyes sparkling.

"Now we can go into the hollow and explore and stuff!" He meowed, giving a little bounce. Cinderheart sighed.

"Hollykit's leg won't be healed up for a while yet, Nettlekit. She can't leave Jayfeather's den until he says."

"But why? Her leg is all wrapped up and stuff, she should be fine!" Firekit complained, frowning.

"Because Jayfeather doesn't want her to hurt it anymore than it is now." Cinderheart replied. Firekit huffed and sat down, his ears flattened. Hollykit smiled a little, twitching her whiskers. Well, at least they weren't boring.

"She hasn't even seen the hollow yet!" Nettlekit meowed, blinking.

"Yes she has! She was in there whenever the fox carried her away!" Firekit meowed, blinking.

"Looking around at the hollow wasn't really top priority then." Hollykit meowed, snorting a little. Firekit opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as Nettlekit bounded forward, eyes bright.

"You'll love it! It's so HUGE! So much bigger than the nursery! Or Jayfeather's den! And there's soo many cats! I didn't think there'd be this many in the Clan!" He mewled excitedly, his tail sticking straight up. "And Purdy and Spiderleg tell awesome stories about the Great battle, and the Great Journey, and -"

"Did they say anything about kits behaving when they're supposed to?" Birchfall grumbled, though his eyes were warm. Firekit and Nettlekit exchanged a glance before dashing up to him, eyes wide.

"What did the mini monster look like?" Firekit asked, putting his front paws in Birchfall's nest and leaning in. "Was it huge?"

"Did you fight if off?" Nettlekit joined in. Hollykit watched them for a heartbeat before turning and settling back down into the nest, staring down at her paws. _I'm never going to get used to saying that,_ she thought, wincing a little.

"Something wrong, dear?" Hollykit looked up to see Cinderheart watching her, worry showing plainly in her eyes.

"No…I'm tired. And my leg hurts. And I'm bored." Hollykit stated quickly, sighing.

"I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time." Cinderheart murmured, touching her nose to Hollykit's forehead. "As long as you listen to Jayfeather, you should be-"

"-resting, right now." Hollykit looked up to see the silver tabby walk into the den, something small and brown clamped in his jaws. "And you two," he twitched his ears towards the two tom kits, who turned around and looked at him with big eyes, "should be getting back to the nursery."

"But Birchfall was telling us about the mini monster!" Firekit protested, suppressing a yawn.

"There'll be plenty of time to tell you later." Birchfall meowed, arching his back in a stretch as best as he could. The two kits grumbled mutinously, stumbling towards Cinderheart tiredly.

"We'll come and visit you tomorrow." Cinderheart meowed, smiling at Hollykit before ushering the two kits out of the den. Hollykit watched them go, blinking slowly. _How big is the camp?_ She thought, cocking her head to the side a little. And just how many cats were there? _A lot? Is there like…more then twenty? Thirty? _

"Here." Hollykit swung around and looked at Jayfeather as he dropped something beside her bed. Stretching up, she looked at it curiously before shrinking backwards, eyes wide. It was a dead mouse! She stared at it for a few moments, looking up when Jayfeather sighed. "Are you going to eat or not?"

"I'm not hungry." Hollykit meowed, her voice faltering a little as her stomach growled. Jayfeather twitched his whiskers, and she heard Briarlight purr in amusement.

"Does your stomach hurt?" Jayfeather asked. "Do you feel sick?"

"I'm not hungry!" Hollykit meowed again, pulling a little ways away from the mouse again.

"Just take a small bite?" Briarlight coaxed, leaning towards Hollykit a little. She shook her head, frustrated now. They were trying to get her to eat a _mouse_! That was just…Uck!

Jayfeather's eyes narrowed a little, and he tore a small piece off of the body, setting it beside Hollykit's paw. "Just one small piece." He prompted, nodding a little. "Then you don't have to eat anymore." Hollykit stared down at the piece incredulously. It was really no bigger than one of her toes, and, now that it wasn't a full mouse, it didn't look as bad…

"What if I don't like it?" She asked, glancing back up at the medicine cat. Jayfeather shrugged, his tail tip twitching.

"Then you can try squirrel or vole or something else." Hollykit wrinkled her nose, looking back down at the small scrap of prey. _Maybe I can pretend like it's something else…like…chicken?_ She bent down and sniffed the small piece, her nose twitching. It didn't _smell_ bad…it actually smelled good. (And that made her stomach churn a little bit, to think that a dead mouse smelled good…)

She shut her eyes and, very slowly, lapped up the piece of prey.

To her surprise, it was really good; she didn't know if that was a bad thing or not, but she swallowed it and leaned towards the mouse to take another bite.

"See? It's not so bad." Briarlight meowed brightly, tearing off another bigger piece for Hollykit. Jayfeather had moved into his own nest and was washing himself, his eyes narrowed as he stared in her direction. Hollykit finished the piece of prey, looking back up and out the den entrance. It was almost completely dark outside now.

Hollykit sighed, setting her chin on the edge of the nest. _I wonder what mom and dad are doing…_She thought, closing her eyes. _I hope they aren't too worried about me…_She scrunched her nose up a little. _I wonder if they sent a search party or something…? Or maybe they don't even realize I'm gone? Maybe they only know I'm gone because the four-wheeler's gone…_she snorted a little, curling up into a tighter ball._ Whatever they're doing, or wherever they are…I hope they're okay, at least…_


	7. Chapter 5

"How is your leg?"

"Fine, still."

"Does it hurt to put pressure on it?"

"No."

"Walk around a little."

Hollykit sighed, standing up and walking in a circle around Jayfeather's den for the fourth time. "See? I'm fine!" She meowed, stopping and looking at Jayfeather. He looked unsure for a few moments, coming up to her and inspecting her leg once more.

"Are you sure? It doesn't hurt at all?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Hollykit protested, walking in another circle. "See?" She hopped around a little, coming to a stop right in front of him, hiding a small twinge of pain with a look of defiance. "I'm fine!"

It'd been only a day since Firekit and Nettlekit had come to visit her, and the idea of exploring the camp hadn't left her mind, instead rooting itself there and keeping her mind preoccupied on that and only that. Jayfeather had other plans, though, and kept her inside his den, refusing to let her even peek outside, which only aggravated her and made Hollykit want to get out even more. There was more than one occasion where Jayfeather caught her trying to sneak a peek outside, which was granted with the same lecture about her leg needing to heal up. (She didn't even listen much anymore; she'd heard it at least six times in the past two days.)

"I don't know." Jayfeather muttered to himself, his tail twitching. "Your leg healed up faster than I expected…I don't think that -"

"Lighten up a little, Jayfeather." Hollykit swiveled around to see a familiar-ish big golden tom standing in the den entrance, his whiskers twitching. "It's about time you let her out again, you're keeping her cooped up like a trapped bird."

"So she doesn't hurt herself any more than she already is." Jayfeather retorted. "She'd only been in here for three days, and her leg looks almost as good as new, and that concerns me!" Hollykit stared up at the other tom, blinking up at him as he looked down at her.

"How are you doing?" He asked, trotting towards her and touching his nose to her forehead.

"Fine." She mewed, blinking in confusion. _He looks familiar…_She thought to herself.

"I'm sure that it's just something she gets from her father." The golden tom meowed, turning his gaze up to Jayfeather. He snorted in contempt, flicking his tail.

"Good you think so high and mightily of yourself, Lionblaze." He growled.

"Maybe the wound wasn't as deep as you thought." Lionblaze continued. Jayfeather sent a glare in his direction, which he promptly ignored. Hollykit twitched an ear, blinking. _Okay, so I guess this tom…Lionblaze, is my father…? _"Stretching her legs a little bit will be good for her." Lionblaze continued. "It'll at least help with the restlessness and maybe make her more cooperative." Jayfeather seemed to debate about it for a moment, giving a resigned sigh and looking back down at Hollykit.

"As long as she promises not to rough house or do anything that could cause further damage, she can go out. But I want her back in here when night falls; I don't think she's healed up enough to sleep in the nursery again." He added. Hollykit nodded eagerly, kneading the ground excitedly. Finally! Lionblaze smiled and stepped out of the den, Hollykit bouncing after him and looking around with wide eyes.

Despite what Firekit and Nettlekit had told her, she couldn't believe how big the camp actually was; it looked like an old abandoned quarry or mining place, in her opinion. The stone walls were steep and smooth, man made for sure, reaching high up and leveling out at the top where a line of trees grew. By the looks of it one of the trees had fallen and rested along the base of the stone wall, the branches of the tree woven together to make what looked like yet another den. Farther on was what looked like a big bramble bush woven into the roots of the tree, faintly familiar to Hollykit, and another den made along the tree made of what looked like…honeysuckle? There were two other dens in the side of the rock that were reinforced with brambles, much like Jayfeather's den. One of them was at the top of a rocky ledge, the other not far away from the where the honeysuckle den was. The far side of the camp was made entirely of bramble bushes.

Hollykit was too busy looking around the camp in wonder to realize that Firekit and Nettlekit, who'd come tumbling out of the one of the dens, were charging towards her, eyes bright. She squeaked in surprise as Firekit leapt at her, stopped by one of Lionblaze's big paws.

"Careful, Firekit." He warned. "Hollykit is only allowed to be out of Jayfeather's den if she's careful and doesn't do anything to hurt her leg anymore." Firekit, who was hardly listening, nodded, bounding over his paw and nudging Hollykit's shoulder.

"We can show you the camp now!" Firekit meowed, turning and bounding into the middle of camp with Nettlekit following. Hollykit smiled and trotted after them, looking around. Cats were sprawled out along the wall, some sitting on a small ledge or eating near what looked like a pile of…Hollykit could only guess that it was prey, and twitched her whiskers. "Come on, I'll show you the warriors den first!" Firekit called, already bounding towards the den woven from the tree branches.

Hollykit followed, poking her head into the den as Firekit bounded inside. The smell of many cats hit her and she twitched her nose, waiting for her eyes to adjust in the gloom. She could see cats curled up around the den, sleeping peacefully, unaware of Firekit trotting and bounding around them. "Come on, their all asleep, they won't mind if we look around." Firekit hissed.

"Don't be too sure about that." A voice from behind Hollykit rumbled. She jumped in surprise, whipping around to see silver and white tabby standing there, her deep blue eyes sparking with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She lightly stepped over one of the sleeping forms and grabbed Firekit by the scruff, stepping out of the den again with Hollykit following sheepishly. The silver tabby set Firekit down beside Nettlekit, who'd kept a short distance between him and the warriors den, turning and nudging Hollykit up to her brothers' side.

"It's fine if you explore the camp, but not in the warriors den." The silver tabby meowed, sighing a little.

"But Ivypool -" Firekit started to object, stopping as the warrior flicked her long tail.

"I don't want to hear any excuses." She mewed, smiling a little. Her gaze fell towards Hollykit, who blinked apologetically. "It's good to see you up and about, but let the warriors sleep at least." Ivypool meowed, trotting away.

"Good job, Firekit. First day around camp and you've already gotten me into trouble." Hollykit meowed, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! That wasn't -" he started to object, stopping as Nettlekit butted his head against his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter; let's go see the apprentice's den!" He meowed, bounding away without waiting for an answer. Hollykit trotted after him, almost tumbling over as Firekit rushed past with a whisk of his tail.

"Hey!" She meowed, scrabbling back up and charging after him. She leapt onto his back, pulling him down to his paws with a squeak of surprise. She rolled around with him for a moment before jumping away, running after Nettlekit and skidding to a stop by his side. "Hah! I win!" She meowed triumphantly.

"We weren't racing!" Firekit snapped, jumping to his paws again.

A medium sized she-cat stepped out of the den, her ginger fur rumpled and ungroomed. "You two should go play somewhere else for a while." She yawned, arching her back in a stretch and shaking out her fur. Nettlekit and Hollykit exchanged a confused glance before looking back up at her.

"There's three of us here." Nettlekit piped up, twitching his whiskers. The she-cat blinked in surprise, looking at the three for a moment.

"Oh, hi Hollykit." She meowed, looking slightly embarrassed. "I didn't know you were out of Jayfeather's den already."

"Just got out today." She meowed, smiling.

"Well, I'm -"

"Cherrypaw!" The yowl of another cat cut her off and she rolled her eyes, flicking her tail irritably.

"That'll be Leafpool, impatient furball…" She muttered, smiling down at the kits. "I'll talk to you guys later, okay? If I don't hurry I'll get my fur clawed off." She hurried away, leaving the three kits alone. Hollykit blinked in surprise, looking over at Firekit.

"Does every cat know me?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, because of what happened with the fox and everything." He meowed, almost nonchalantly. _I guess that makes sense…_Hollykit thought, cocking her head a little. _Whenever that Charlie kid broke his leg at school, everybody knew about it, and I'm sure half the school didn't even know who he was…_

"Hollykit, come on!" Nettlekit called, breaking into her thoughts.

"Coming!" She called back, bounding towards them. _Ugh, I hope there isn't much else to see…I'm too tired for this, _she thought, suppressing a yawn as they came up to the honeysuckle den.

"You first!" Firekit chirped as Hollykit came up beside them, shoving her in without waiting for her argument. She skidded into the den, huffing indignantly as she flopped over onto her chest.

"Come on! That wasn't -" she started, stopping suddenly. She turned to see two elderly cats watching her, purring.

"Ahh, brothers messing with you already?" The oldest tom, a graying tabby tom asked. Hollykit didn't answer, instead blinked up at him as he continued. "You know, I could teach ya a few things to teach 'em a lesson. Maybe then they won't be in yer fur all the time."

"Come on, Purdy. She just got out of Jayfeather's den. That's not the best idea." The other tom, a big black tom with a brown chest and stomach, commented.

"I'm fine, though!" Hollykit said defensively, shying away as both toms turned to look at her again. Firekit and Nettlekit jumped into the den a moment later, rushing up to the tabby's side and settling down.

"Purdy, will you tell us the story about the fox you chased off?" Firekit asked.

"Pleeaaasee?" Nettlekit pleaded. Purdy chuckled, a purr rumbling deep in his chest.

"'Course I can! Ya see, I was all alone in the upwalker's territory, see? I figured I'd hunt a little while it was still light outside, so naturally I went towards the forest…" Hollykit stopped listening after a few heartbeats, staring out of the den for a few long moments and suppressing another yawn.

"I think it might be time for Hollykit to head back to Jayfeather's." The black tom commented, making Hollykit jump. She hadn't realized she'd started to doze off and shook her head sheepishly.

"I-I'm okay!" She said, her words broken by a long yawn. Both toms chuckled again and the black one stood up, nudging her out of the den slowly. "But I'm not tired!" She protested as he guided her back towards Jayfeather's den. She gave up protesting as he nudged her again, stumbling towards Jayfeather's den in resignation.

"Here you go." He meowed as she walked into the medicine cat's den, plopping down into her bed without a word.

"Thank you, Spiderleg." Jayfeather's voice filtered from the back of the den, followed by Briarlight's purr of amusement.

"I think she'll be good enough to move back into the nursery soon." Briarlight commented. "Her leg looks perfectly fine, and she's walking without much trouble."

"Maybe." Jayfeather said quietly, sighing a little. The two cats chatted for a while more as Hollykit slowly began to doze off again. _I guess I could get used to this, _She thought tiredly, snuggling deeper into the bed. _Besides getting easily tired…I guess that just comes with being a young cat, then._

**AN: The only thing I'm not really liking about this story is how slow this beginning is going =U=;; I'm sorry if it's very VERY slow paced and not very interesting...trust me, it'll get better as I get into it more. **

**As for now, though, Hollykit's still trying to get used to clan life (I guess), and what better way than to explore the camp~? ^^  
**

**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	8. Chapter 6

**AN:: HOLY CRAP SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN A WHILE I'VE BEEN SUPER BUSY ^^; What with Schoolwork, and personal things, and comics/art I need to get done...yeah. .;; ****But hey...at least I got it done, right? ^^; **

**Also this chapter is super long and I'm not sorry at all XD **

**Enjoy to all of the [insert number here] fans that read~! C:**

**And don't forget to R&R~! 3**

"Hah ha! Can't catch me!" Hollykit squealed, bounding around the camp. Firekit howled and hared after her, bounding up to her side easily. Hollykit stopped suddenly, making a sharp turn and almost running into two warriors heading towards the fresh kill pile. She easily leapt around Nettlekit as he leapt, instead making him land in a tumble of legs and tail, and jumped around the fresh kill pile teasingly. "I win again!"

"No fair!" Nettlekit huffed, shaking dust from his fur. "You win _every_ time!"

"That's because I'm just faster than you." Hollykit said, lifting her chin with a smirk.

"No, I am!" Firekit meowed, leaping towards Hollykit. "I'm going to be the fasted warrior Thunderclan has ever seen!" He leapt at Hollykit, making the two roll backwards and fall into a tussle.

"Watch where you're going!" A nearby warrior called as the two rolled past his paws.

"Well I'm going to be the best warrior Thunderclan has ever seen!" Hollykit retorted, pushing Firekit off with a huff and jumping to her paws. Something grabbed Hollykit's tail and she squeaked in surprise, jumping with a small yelp and turning to see Nettlekit crouched with a smirk on his face.

"Well _I'm_ going to be the best hunter!" He said proudly.

"You won't get anywhere if you're going to be under our paws!" A pale, sandy colored she-cat commented, smiling a little. Firekit looked crestfallen for a few moments before shaking his head and smiling.

"I'm still gonna be the fastest, best warrior in all the clans!" He said triumphantly.

"I wish we could be apprentices now." Nettlekit meowed wistfully. "It's so boring in the camp!"

"Once you're an apprentice, you'll wish you were back in the nursery." Cherrypaw, from a few mouse lengths away, mewed. "Every chance you get you'll try to fit in a nice nap, or at least a quick break."

"But there's still nothing to do in the camp right now!" Hollykit replied, twitching her whiskers. Another month – or moon, as the clan cats called it – had passed and she'd been sent back to the nursery. Cinderheart and her siblings were overjoyed by it, but Hollykit was indifferent about it; the nursery was a lot more crowded than Jayfeather's den was, and there was another cat in there; Dovewing, her stomach swollen with unborn kits. She was nice, and the nursery was a lot warmer than Jayfeather's den, but she didn't like being so crowded and cooped up in one spot.

Cinderheart slipped out of the nursery and trotted up to the three, smiling and flicking her tail over their ears. "How about this," she meowed, pulling them away from the pale warrior and the apprentice. "I'll take you three out of camp, _if_ you promise to behave."

"We promise!" Firekit squeaked, bouncing up and down in excitement. Hollykit cocked her head to the side. Outside? She'd forgotten that there was more than just the camp…and a small twinge of worry wormed its way into her stomach.

"You don't look that excited about going into the forest, Hollykit." Cherrypaw observed, her tail flicking. Hollykit looked over at her for a heartbeat before averting her gaze.

"I bet she's scared!" Firekit teased, making Hollykit flatten her ears.

"Am not!" She growled back, turning her back on him.

"Are so!"

"Leave your sister alone, Firekit." Cinderheart scolded, flicking her tail over his ears. "If she doesn't want to come, then so be it."

"I do want to go!" Hollykit protested, standing up and glaring at her brother. There was no way she was going to let him think she was scared! With her tail sticking straight up, she stalked after Cinderheart, ignoring Firekit's muttered taunts.

She warily blinked and moved closer to Cinderheart as they trotted into the bramble tunnel, hiding behind her as they emerged on the other side. "WOAH!" Firekit gasped, bouncing around on his paws. "It's so…so big!" Warily Hollykit peered around Cinderheart, her eyes widening. It was more than big; it was _huge! _Stepping away from Cinderheart, she looked around, blinking slowly.

"Hey, Hollykit!" Firekit meowed, bounding around a bush before jumping into a fern. "Let's play hide-and-seek!"

"You're it, then!" She called back, bounding away. She didn't stay to hear his indignant reply; instead she leapt around a hazel bush, backtracking on her own track before running under the roots of a nearby tree, snuggling down into the darkness with a smirk.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Firekit's voice made Hollykit snuggle deeper into the darkness, cocking her head to the side to listen. She could hear pawsteps from somewhere nearby, then the rustle of bushes…

"_You seem to be fitting in quite nicely, Hollykit."_ Hollykit jumped, turning to see the silhouette of a dark gray she-cat; the one from Starclan she'd seen the night she was turned into a cat.

"Y…yeah…I guess…" she muttered, keeping her ears pricked for any sign of Firekit.

"_You've been a cat for only two moons, and yet you seem as though you were a real clan cat…"_ The gray she-cat continued.

"I thought that was the point." Hollykit whispered.

"_True, but I didn't expect you to do it so well."_

"Should I be offended by that?" The gray she-cat chuckled, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at Hollykit, the smile fading.

"_Just be careful, Hollykit. It may seem like fun and games now, but everything can change within a heartbeat."_

"Isn't that how life is anyways?" Hollykit muttered, eyeing the she-cat warily. She shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. "What?" Hollykit asked, standing up.

"Ha! Found you!" Hollykit jumped, whipping around to see Firekit crouching at the entrance to her hiding spot. "You're it!" Hollykit winced, shaking her head a little and glancing back over her shoulder, but the she-cat was gone. Turning, she scrabbled out from under the tree roots, pushing Firekit aside playfully and bounding out towards his counting spot.

"One, two, three…" Hollykit started, trailing off and muttering the rest of the numbers quietly. _What did that…that cat mean by all of this…? I thought I was supposed to fit in…_She thought, trailing off completely and looking at the ground. _…Maybe it is a little odd that I've gotten so used to it so quickly…but…_Hollykit held up her paw, inspecting it for a moment curiously. _…it's not so bad, right? I'm supposed to be getting used to being a cat…and being a kit is even better, by far…_"Twenty, twenty-one…" _I…Maybe this is supposed to feel wrong…? Maybe, since I was human, this shouldn't feel so natural….but it does…_

"Ready or not, here I come!" She called out, turning around, her whiskers twitching. _Is it so bad that instincts kicked in?_ Hollykit wondered idly, looking around.

"_It was not meant to be of any offence to you, Hollykit." _Hollykit jumped, squeaking in surprise and rounding to see a familiar ginger tom sitting behind her. _Oh great, two visits in one day. I must be so lucky…_she thought dryly.

"Then what is it?" She muttered, turning her attention back to the forest and twitching her ears. "Did I do something wrong?"

"_It is, as you thought a few moments ago, merely instinct." _He replied._ "Though, of course, you've responded much better than we could've ever imagined."_

"What's with all these snide comments?" Hollykit muttered, her ears swiveling around towards a bush as it rustled slightly. The tom chuckled, shaking his head and trotting up to Hollykit's side.

"_These aren't mean to be accusations, Hollykit. We were afraid that you would act…well, make it obvious you weren't a cat, so to speak. Instead, you've gone well beyond our expectations. If I didn't know any better, I would think you were a pure blooded warrior cat." _The tom flinched a little at his own comment, but his expression returned to a warm smile a heartbeat afterwards, and Hollykit had to wonder whether she imagined it or not.

"So it is good, then." She murmured, falling into a crouch. Leaving the tom where he was, she snuck forward, her nose twitching. She could see only darkness under an overhanging rock, but…she opened her jaws slightly, drawing in a slow breath. She could definitely smell Nettlekit…but Firekit's scent was there as well, under the smell of ferns…

She slowly drew forward, hiding in the shade created by the tiny cave, and slid in stealthily. Her nose twitched again, and she had to hold back a sneeze that threatened to give her away. In the farthest part of the small den, she could see Firekit's form, huddling against a few other rocks with his head tucked under his paws and his tail tucked under his rump. Smiling, Hollykit slid forward and lowered herself, waggling her haunches before leaping and landing right on her brother.

"Found you!" She meowed as he squealed in surprise, flailing his paws.

"H-hey! That's not…" He started, then stopped, puffing in exasperation. "Fine." He grumbled, stomping out with Hollykit following. To her surprise, the ginger tom was still where she'd left him, sitting and watching her curiously.

"_Nicely done, Hollykit."_ He congratulated, nodding his head.

"Thanks." She puffed under her breath, turning and glancing at Firekit nervously.

"_Don't worry, he can't see me; only you can." _He meowed, as if reading her thoughts. Hollykit rolled her eyes, twitching her tail tip.

"Whatever."

"_You've got quite the attitude."_ He meowed with a laugh, standing up. _"Much like a certain medicine cat I know…"_

"What's your name, anyways?" Hollykit muttered, trailing off into a small cough as Firekit gave her a curious look.

"_My name is Firestar; I am the previous leader of Thunderclan."_ He meowed, a small flicker of pride crossing his gaze. _"The cat that spoke with you earlier is Yellowfang; a former medicine cat of Thunderclan, previously Shadowclan."_

"Shadowclan?" She meowed, turning to look at Firestar. That word seemed…familiar… "What's that?" The ginger tom closed his eyes for a moment, looking back up at her with a small smile.

"_You'll learn in due time, Hollykit." _Firestar stood up, watching as Nettlekit bounded out of the bushes ahead and almost barreled into Firekit. _"I must go. I will talk to you soon."_ Before Hollykit could open her mouth to reply, Firestar's form shimmered, fading into nothingness, and she was left staring at the tree dully.

"Hey, Hollykit!" Hollykit looked around as Firekit bounded up to her. "Nettlekit agreed to be it, since we've both been it before. He's already counting!" He rushed off without another word, and Hollykit hesitantly turned and ran in the opposite direction.

She bounded around a small bush, coming to a stop and looking up at a small tree. It didn't _look_ that tall…Hollykit crouched at the base of the tree, staring up at a small hole in the bark. "Perfect." She muttered, waggling her haunches. Just before she leapt, she heard the bushes beside her rustle, and a mouse skittered by, making her jump with a small squeak of alarm.

A heartbeat later, a small yowl came from the bushes and a red blur shot out, tackling Hollykit to the ground. She shrieked in a mixture of surprise and fear as the memory of the fox resurfaced, and she struggled vainly, her tiny claws sliding out and digging into whatever she could reach.

"H-hey! Ow!" A voice meowed, and the figure moved away from her. Hollykit instantly jumped to her paws too, her fur fluffed out to make her look twice her size and claws still out, and backed up, not stopping until she was cornered by a rock. The form, which she could now see was another cat, stood still, staring at Hollykit with a mixture of surprise and shock.

"What's going on?!" Another, familiar voice meowed from behind the red tom, and Lionblaze burst out of the bushes, his eyes widening a little when he saw Hollykit. Before he could move another whisker-length, Cinderheart burst out of the bushes opposite, her eyes wide. Firekit and Nettlekit were right behind her.

"Hollykit!" She meowed, relief flooding her gaze as she saw her. She ran up to Hollykit and looked her over worriedly, Lionblaze coming up behind her and doing the same. The red tom took a small step forward, his eyes wide.

"I-I'm so sorry! I was hunting a mouse, and the scent trail leads right through here…I-I didn't mean to attack her!" He meowed, looking flustered. Hollykit took a small breath, shaking a little and burrowing her face into Cinderheart's leg.

"How can you not tell the difference between a mouse and my daughter?!" Cinderheart spat at the tom, making him flinch.

"It's fine, Foxleap. Just head back with the others and try by the lakeshore." Lionblaze ordered, twitching his tail. The red tom nodded and slowly turned back, giving a last apologetic look before pushing his way through the bushes.

"Are you alright, Hollykit?" Firekit asked nervously, looking wide eyed and scared. Hollykit pulled away from Cinderheart a little, nodding.

"H…He j-just scared me…" She murmured, her ears folding against her head. She was shaking horribly, and she pressed against Cinderheart more, feeling oddly comforted. "Th…the mouse…ran right by me…" she murmured, more into Cinderheart's chest fur than to anyone else. She knew that he didn't mean it…and she didn't want him to get in trouble because of a small accident…

"I think it's time to go back to camp." Cinderheart meowed quietly, touching her nose to Hollykit's head before picking her up by the scruff. Hollykit watched the ground as they made their way back, making no move to speak to anyone that they passed. The moment they were back in camp and her paws touched the ground, she ran towards the nursery, bundling into the den and curling up into a ball in her bed.

It was a long time before she made any move to sit up and talk, and that was long after everyone else was asleep. She sat up tiredly, looking around at the dark den groggily. Sometime in her fear induced haze, she remembered dozing off a little, waking up every time Firekit and Nettlekit prodded her or when Cinderheart tried to coax her to eat something. She stared out at the starry sky for a few moments, turning her gaze towards the warriors den and shuddering a little.

_How could such a small incident scare me so badly? _She wondered idly, her mind drifting. She could remember a moment from whenever she was human, when she'd just started school…How Michael Baxter had scared her so badly, she refused to get within twenty feet of him up until seventh grade…Would this turn into something like that? _I hardly think so, this was actually an accident…_

Hollykit shook her head and sighed, turning to go back to bed. Maybe if she actually got a good night's sleep, then she would…She stopped in her tracks, staring at Cinderheart curiously. Something was…missing. She walked around to Cinderheart's other side and peeked around her, her eyes narrowing a little.

Her brothers were gone.

Hollykit stood up and twitched her nose, looking around. _Where'd they go…?_ They couldn't have snuck out from the nursery entrance, since there was always a warrior on guard outside. So that must mean…Standing up, she slowly inched along the back wall of the nursery, prodding the wall every now and then. Finally, near Dovewing's sleeping form, she found a spot that gave way under her paw.

Making sure that both queens were asleep, she slipped out of the tiny hole, biting her tongue to keep from squeaking as thorns raked through her fur. She kept going, blinking in mild surprise when she saw an orange tuft of fur on a thorn she passed.

Finally, she broke free from the thorns, shaking her fur out in frustration and looking around. Nettlekit and Firekit had surely been here…She leapt over a small rock and, almost colliding with the two, let out a restrained squeal of surprise. "Hollykit!" Nettlekit gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you two the same thing!" She retorted. Firekit stepped forward, his eyes sparkling brightly.

"We're sneaking out to explore the forest!"


	9. Chapter 7

**Review Replies:**

** Skypaw13: Aahaha, wow! Thank you so much, that makes me feel awesome~! 3 Ya know, I never really thought I was good at descriptions and such...X33 But hey, I try; and it looks like it pays off a little~ Looking forward to hearing from you again~**

** pearlfeather: w Aww, thanks~! I'm hoping to start up my regular updating schedule again...but with this story, my Slender fic, my comics and art, plus personal projects/life(lolwhohasalifeanymore)...it may not be as regular X3 But I'll try~! C:  
**

"What? Why?!" Hollykit gasped, looking around nervously. She had failed to realize they were in the forest up until now, the claw like branches disappearing into shadows with the dark sky, the dark trunks surrounding them no more than an outline in the dark.

"Because! It's so boring in camp." Firekit meowed. "Besides, we didn't get to explore anymore because of you!" Hollykit's tail twitched in agitation and she puffed her fur out, growling.

"It's not my fault that he looked like a fox!" She spat at him.

"Guys, stop!" Nettlekit meowed, looking around nervously. "Someone will hear you two arguing, and we'll all get into trouble!" Hollykit gave Firekit a mutinous look, but kept her mouth shut.  
"Are you coming with us?" Firekit asked as he started forward. "Because if you're not, then you can go back to the nursery and mope around like you did all day." Hollykit let out a frustrated growl, digging her claws into the dirt before following them, glaring at Firekit the whole way.

"Where are we going?" She asked Nettlekit. He shrugged and gave Firekit an inquiring look.

"I overheard Lilypaw talking about a hole in the ground somewhere, and that it leads into a huge underground cave!" Firekit announced, smiling. "There's gotta be some cool stuff down there, and maybe we can find it!"

"Or maybe there's a tunnel that leads to Shadowclan's territory!" Nettlekit added, his tail flicking in excitement. Hollykit hung back a little, cocking her head to the side. _That…sounds more dangerous than fun…_she thought, not daring to put her misgivings into words. No way was she going to let Firekit know she was scared.

"Where is it, then?" She asked, looking around.  
"Uhh...somewhere by the twoleg nest, I think?" Firekit replied, sounding unsure. Hollykit gave him a contemtuous look, flicking her tail.  
"And we have no idea where that is." She said matter-of-factly. Firekit's ears flattened and he looked away, kicking at the ground.  
"That's not the point." He muttered, looking up. "What matters is that I know what direction it's in, at least." He flicked his tail towards the bushes in front of them, his courage returning. "If we go this way, we should find it."  
"I thought that the twoleg nest was by Shadowclan's boarder." Nettlekit mused as the three fell into a single file line. Hollykit bit back another comment, instead looking around the forest cautiously. It was a lot more...scary, now that it was dark. Who knows what could be in these trees? Maybe there were other cats, watching them, waiting to expose their little scheme...  
"Hey, watch it!" Hollykit jumped back in surprise at Firekit's hiss, and flattened her ears a little. "That's my tail you stepped on!"  
"Sorry." She whimpered, her eyes falling to the ground. Maybe she was just overreacting, like she did earlier that day...maybe she was just imagining it.  
A sudden rustle of the bushes beside them made all three kits jump, and they all dove for cover under a nearby hazel bush, pressing together in alarm. _There's something here!_ Hollykit thought, her ears flattened. _I knew it! I knew we shouldn't have...huh?_ Her worry turned to confusion as a familiar ginger she-cat stepped out of the bushes and looked around worriedly, her nose twitching. _Ch...Cherrypaw?_  
Hollykit exchanged a confused look with her brothers before watching the she-cat again. Cherrypaw glanced around one last time, her ears pricked and swiveling around, nose twitching, before she shook her head and headed along the small path Firekit was leading them down, her tail tip flicking back and forth.  
"Where's she going?" Nettlekit murmured, blinking his wide eyes. Firekit shrugged, looking conflicted and confused.  
"I...I dunno..."  
"There's only one way to find out." Hollykit murmured, snaking past them and stalking forward before they could object. She was lucky; her black fur would hide her well in the darkness of the bushes. She snuck towards the far bushes, following Cherrypaw's scent, until it finally grew stronger and she stopped. Taking a small breath, she crouched down, peeking under a bush...  
Hollykit's jaw dropped in a mixture of shock and surprise at the scene before her. The clearing was kind of small, the oak trees gave way to tall, dark fir trees. And Cherrypaw was there alright; but there was another cat there, too. His dark brown fur blended into the tree trunks behind him, the only indication of him being there his dark amber eyes, and the deep rumbling purr as he wound his tail with Cherrypaw's.  
_I've never seen him before..._Hollykit though, a prickle of unease creeping up her back_. He smells different, too..._ She opened her jaws a little, her nose wrinkling at the scent. It was a lot more…different, then Thunderclan's scent…_Ugh, do they all smell like that?_ She wondered, narrowing her eyes in confusion. She recalled Nettlekit saying something about Shadowclan boarder being somewhere nearby...Maybe this was a Shadowclan cat?  
The tom pulled away nervously, looking around with his nose twitching. "I think I smell more Thunderclan cats..." he murmured, taking a step back and melting into the darkness a little. Hollykit stiffened, taking a small step back and flattening herself to the ground. Cherrypaw took a step forward, opening her mouth a little as well before shaking her head.

"I think you're just imagining things." She meowed, butting her head against his shoulder. "Stupid furball." The tom rolled his eyes, swatting at her ears before falling into a tussle with her, laughing. Hollykit inched backwards quietly, finally turning and bounding away quietly, panting a little.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Firekit's voice startled her and she skidded to a halt, looking around for him. Her brothers slipped out from under the bush beside her, their eyes widening. "Is something wrong?" Hollykit shook her head, glancing over her shoulder.

"I…I don't know…I think she was with…a Shadowclan cat…" She managed to say. Firekit's tail stiffened and he exchanged a look with Nettlekit.

"Wh…what?!" Nettlekit gasped, shaking his head. "But…but she's a Thunderclan cat! Why is she seeing a Shadowclan cat?!"

"We have to tell someone!" Firekit added, hopping from foot to foot worriedly.

"We can't!" Hollykit protested.

"Why not? Are we just going to let this slip by without anybody knowing?!" Firekit retorted, glaring at Hollykit.

"If we tell someone, then they'll know we snuck out of camp, too!" Hollykit hissed. Both Firekit and Nettlekit's shoulder's dropped, and they exchanged another nervous look. Hollykit's tail flicked back and forth as she stared at the bushes where she'd come from, a small prickle of distrust finding it's way into her. _How can she do this to Thunderclan? I thought she was loyal…!_

"L-let's go home then…before Cherrypaw comes back and sees us…" Nettlekit suggested, turning and trotting back the way they came. Firekit followed soon after and Hollykit turned to as well, but stopped and glanced over her shoulder once last time. _…What…what were they doing, anyways…?_ She wondered, slowly following her brothers. _…..I don't think they were just hanging out as friends…_she shook her head and sighed, trotting to catch up to Firekit. _Clan life is so weird…_

The three fell into their single file line, quickly making their way back and squeezing past the thorns as quickly as possible. Nettlekit hesitated at the nursery wall, peeking inside before making his way inside. Again, Hollykit hesitated, staring out at the forest for a few long moments, her ears twitching. _…Were they…in love? Is that why they're hanging out together…?_

"Hollykit, come on!" Nettlekit's hiss made her snap out of her thoughts and slip into the den, almost running into Dovewing's side as she did so. The three silently slipped past the queen, tiredly falling into their beds and curling into balls at Cinderheart's side. Within moments Nettlekit and Firekit's breathing had slowed as they fell asleep, but Hollykit sat awake, staring at where the hole in the wall is.

…_How could she fall in love with a cat from another clan? They never have time to actually talk, or get to know each other…_Her thoughts trailed off as she thought back to a few nights ago, when Bramblestar had gathered a group of cats to go to the…what was it called…the Gathering. _What is that, anyways? Maybe when all the clans…gather together? But how do they not try to kill each other while they're there?_

"_You still have much to learn, young one." _Hollykit's head snapped up to see the faint outline of Bluestar sitting at the far edge of the den, her tail wrapped neatly around her paws. _"There is more to Clan life than you know."_

_Yeah, and that's the problem!_ Hollykit thought, rolling her eyes. _Am I supposed to already know this stuff?_

"_Not all at once…But you are expected to know a little by now." _Bluestar flicked her ears, blinking slowly. _"Do you know of the four clans?"_

_Kind of…_Hollykit thought, her eyes narrowing a little. _I know there's Thunderclan, and Shadowclan…and….uhm…._

"_Windclan, and Riverclan." _Bluestar finished. _"There isn't much more I can teach you, but -"_

_What was the deal with what I saw, then? With Cherrypaw and that…Shadowclan cat?_ Hollykit interrupted. _Why did I instantly think it was so wrong?_

"_Because that breaks the Warrior code."_ Bluestar stated. _"The warrior code is a code of laws set down by our ancestors that each cat must follow. Loyalty to your clan is one of the first laws. What Cherrypaw is doing with him is going against that law, and -"_

_She could be punished if someone found out,_ Hollykit finished. Bluestar nodded slowly.

"_Precisely."_ Hollykit shifted in her bed, tucking her arms under her chest and looking away.

_And I can't tell anyone, or else they'll know we snuck out of camp…_Bluestar stood up, touching her nose to Hollykit's forehead.

"_I can't tell you what you should do, Hollykit. You must make that decision for yourself." _Bluestar murmured. Hollykit stared ahead of her, thinking. _"Goodnight, Hollykit." _Hollykit looked up at Bluestar for a long moment, watching her form disappear slowly.

"Goodnight." She murmured, setting her head down and curling her paw around her nose.

Jayfeather pushed his way out of his den, stretching and scenting the air. It was still nighttime…it'd be a while before dawn came. He sat down beside the brambled entrance to his den, staring up at the sky. Since Hollykit had come back with the wound on her leg, something had felt…off, about her, and Jayfeather couldn't understand why. Maybe it was how she managed to survive an attack from a starving fox, or how fast she'd healed up afterwards…shaking his head, he started towards the bramble tunnel, his whiskers twitching. _Maybe I just need to clear my head,_ he thought, flicking his tail tip. Maybe he was just over thinking this; it's not unnatural for wounds to heal quickly, right?

Just before he entered the bramble tunnel he stopped, his ears twitching upwards. He turned his head towards the nursery, narrowing his eyes. _What was that…? _He thought, listening for it again. He was sure that he'd heard…Bluestar? Quietly, Jayfeather crept towards the nursery, coming to a stop on the far edge of the den and listening quietly. It was faint, but he could definitely hear another voice…_"Goodnight, Hollykit."_ The voice murmured.

"Goodnight." Came Hollykit's reluctant reply. Jayfeather twitched his ears, blinking in confusion. Wait…she'd heard Bluestar? He peeked into the den, his ears pricked to hear anymore. But no; he could hear Hollykit's breath slowing as she fell asleep. He stood up, slowly walking back towards the bramble tunnel with his head lowered. _What is Bluestar doing talking to Hollykit…?_

Jayfeather shook his head, glancing one last time towards the nursery. _…Something's not right…something's different. And I'm going to find out what._

**AN: Whoops now I'm working on this more than my comics and other stuff HELP I SUCK AT PRIORITIZING!**

**Ahem, anywho. I really do like this chapter~ C: (Sorry it's not as long as the last one, though X3)**

**And GASP! I think Jayfeather might know something...or at least he's starting to get that something's not right~  
**

**Stay tuned for more, and don't forget to R&R~! C: **


	10. Chapter 8

**AN:: Woah okay I haven't updated this in a while whoops. Sorry about that...;; I've been kind of busy with personal affairs (even though summer started last month and I really thought I'd have a lot of free time to write, but whoops real life wanted to throw itself in my face and screw it all up. But, uhh...yeah. I recently got a bunch of baby kitties and they're so cute and made me remember about my Warriors story and gave me the sudden urge to write the next chapter C: **

**(Btw, there's three kitties, all girls; a white one named Danny [after Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones], a black and gray one named Mildred[named by my brother], and a gray, black, and white one named Vira [named by me :D]. w )**

**But uhm, yeah. I'll try to work on this and my other stories a little more, but..can't promise much, sorry~ ^^; **

**Don't forget to R&R~! 3**

The trees had a quiet stillness to them, calming the air and the forest it blanketed. Hollykit took a small step forward, crouching so she could get a better view from under the thorn bush. She could hear it now, sneaking through the undergrowth not far away, and she flicked her tail in distrust, running through Firekit's plan in her head once more.

The ferns ahead of her quivered, and out stepped her target; the Shadowclan leader, his gaze flicking about, nose twitching. He turned and started towards the bushes to their right, his tail flicking in frustration. _That's right…right into our trap…_The moment he'd passed she quickly leapt out of the thorns, dashing to the ferns and making a loud ruckus. She watched as the Shadowclan cat's ears flicked up and he quickly turned, looking around with narrowed eyes, slowly turning in a wide circle.

_Anytime now…_Hollykit thought impatiently, kneading the ground. She bunched her muscles, waiting…

"Attack!"

Firekit's yowl stung the once quiet air, and Hollykit leapt, landing on the tom's back and pricking him with tiny claws.

"Hey! Wha -" Lionblaze yelled in a mixture of surprise and alarm, swaying as the three kits pummeled him with their small paws. He smiled, letting out a growl of anger and swiping, knocking Nettlekit back with a squeal of surprise.

"Take that, Blackstar!" Nettlekit howled, running under Lionblaze and attacking his stomach.

"You dare attack me, leader of Shadowclan?!" He snarled, turning and throwing Hollykit off his back. She landed with a puff, standing up and shaking her fur out quickly before snarling and swiping at him.

"How dare you attack Thunderclan camp!" She retorted.

"Rawr!" Firekit snarled, nipping the back of Lionblaze's neck. He let out a startled growl, swaying dangerously before falling to the ground. "Ha hah!" Firekit yowled, leaping onto Lionblaze's side. "I have defeated Blackstar, fearless leader of Shadowclan!"

"Hey, no fair! We helped!" Hollykit protested. Before Firekit could reply, Lionblaze shifted, making him fall off with a squeal. "You didn't even kill him! He's still got like, eight lives left!" She said, rolling her eyes and unsheathing her claws.

"Hold up." Lionblaze meowed quickly, smiling. "I can't stay much longer, you three. I'm supposed to be hunting right now."

"Aww, come on!" Nettlekit whined, sitting in front of Lionblaze. "You never play with us!"

"That's because he's one of the best warriors in Thunderclan." Firekit meowed, puffing out his chest. "We should be proud of him!" Hollykit rolled her eyes, looking out towards the trees behind them. Maybe he couldn't play, but…

"Can you take us to see the lake?" She asked abruptly, twitching her ears.

"Yeah, yeah! I wanna see the lake!" Firekit meowed, his previous argument with Nettlekit forgotten.

"Me too! Me too!" Nettlekit agreed, bouncing up and down. "Please?"

"I don't know…" Lionblaze meowed, looking worriedly over his shoulder. "You three should be in camp right now, anyways. Does your mother know you're out here?"

"Yes, she does." Firekit replied defensively. "We came out here with Dovewing and the others."

"Then why don't you play with them?"

"They're so boring!" Firekit whined, rolling his eyes. Cheetahkit is much too small to play anything properly, Moonkit would rather sit and watch Jayfeather all morning, and Sunkit would rather stay by Dovewing's side the whole time!"

"Please?" Nettlekit begged, swatting at Lionblaze's tail. "We promise we won't get into trouble!"

"And we'll do whatever you say!" Hollykit chimed in. Lionblaze looked unsure, his gaze flicking back towards camp, and Hollykit felt her stomach drop a little. Maybe he would say no…?

"You must promise me that you'll do what I say, when I say it." Lionblaze finally meowed, sighing.

"We promise!" Hollykit squeaked, shifting from paw to paw.

"And if I say we go home, we go straight home, no arguments." He continued, giving each of them a stern look. The three nodded excitedly, exchanging a quick glance between each other before turning back to Lionblaze. Lionblaze, still looking unsure, nodded, turning and walking back towards camp with a flick of his tail.

"Where's he going…?" Firekit asked, looking shocked. "I thought he said he was -"

"Dovewing!" Lionblaze called, trotting forward a few paces and disappearing into a nearby patch of ferns. The three kits followed, stopping at Lionblaze's heels and watching Dovewing and her kits. "I'm going to be taking these three down to the lake for a little bit." He meowed, gesturing towards them. "Would you mind telling Cinderheart if you see her?"

"Not at all." Dovewing meowed, smiling.

"I want to go to the lake, too!" One of Dovewing's kits, a golden speckled one piped up, stumbling forward a pace.

"Me too!" A silver one with a gray mask and tail mewed, falling over his feet. The last one, a golden tabby with darker stripes and a lighter stomach, said nothing, instead snuggling closer to Dovewing's side and peeking out nervously.

"We'll go whenever you three are bigger." Dovewing promised, licking the first one over the ears. She shied away, bounding up to Hollykit and stopping a whisker length away from her nose.

"You have to tell me about it when you get back! She squealed, almost falling forwards into Hollykit's chest. With a small smile Hollykit stepped back, nodding.

"I promise."

"Let's go, let's go!" Firekit meowed impatiently, turning in a circle. Lionblaze smiled, rolling his eyes and nodding to Dovewing.

"Thank you." He meowed, turning and starting through the bushes. Hollykit nodded to Dovewing's kits before bounding after Lionblaze, Firekit and Nettlekit at her side.

"How big is the lake?" Nettlekit asked, looking up at Lionblaze.

"Uh, pretty big." He meowed, smiling a little.

"Can you see the other side?" Firekit asked, blinking slowly. Lionblaze nodded and answered, but Hollykit wasn't paying much attention; her thoughts began to wander again, and she could faintly remember seeing the lake before…on the four-wheeler. _But I was interrupted by Hollykit's- err, my memory…_She thought, twitching a little.

"Oh, oh! What about the other clans? Will we be able to see them on the other side of the lake?" Nettlekit asked, bumping into Hollykit and bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Why not take a look for yourself?" Lionblaze asked, twitching his ears towards the rise just ahead of them. Without hesitating, Firekit and Nettlekit dashed ahead, Hollykit scrabbling after them hastily. The three stopped at the top of the rise, staring down with wide eyes.

"Woah!" Hollykit breathed, her previous thoughts gone. The ground sloped down gently, the grassy forest floor changing to a stretch of pebbles that disappeared into the edges of the lake. The sun sparkled on the water, sending glares this way and that, the cloudless sky reflected on the still surface. Across the water, a short ways away was a lone island, a fallen tree running back into marshy grounds. _It looks even better than when I was human…_Hollykit thought.

"Look! I can see Riverclan!" Firekit squealed, jumping up onto his back legs and craning his neck to see. Hollykit scanned the far side of the lake, looking for any signs of movement. _But…I don't see anyth-_ her thoughts stopped abruptly as something surfaced in the lake, sending ripples through the still surface once more. It was…_It's a cat!_

"They actually _like_ swimming?!" Nettlekit gasped, scrunching up his nose in disgust. The thought of getting her fur wet made Hollykit shudder in dislike, shaking her head with a sniff. _That has to feel weird…_

"Can we go down to the water's edge?" Nettlekit called, turning and looking down towards Lionblaze, who was slowly making his way up the slope. He stopped beside Hollykit and looked around, huffing a little before nodding.

"Alright, but we need to head back soon, alright? Just a quick look around the water's edge, then we head back." He said, giving them all a stern look. Firekit opened his mouth to argue, snapping it shut and nodding. Lionblaze nodded too, winding his way around a bush and heading down the slope slowly. Hollykit, despite herself, bounded ahead of him, skidding to a stop at the water's edge and staring out over the water. _I wonder how they can tolerate having water in their fur…_she thought, watching another cat head bob out of the water before disappearing under again.

The water moved forwards again, washing over her paws with a swirl and sending a shiver down her back. She backed out of it, shaking her paws with a sniff and almost falling over Firekit. "Watch it!" He meowed, jumping out of the way. Hollykit rolled her eyes, shaking her paws out again.

"See that island over there?" Lionblaze meowed, motioning towards it with his tail. "That's where we meet for Gatherings."

"Can we go over there now?" Nettlekit asked, jumping to his paws.

"I'm afraid not; we'd have to pass through Windclan and Riverclan's territories to do so." Lionblaze replied, shaking his head. "And I'm sure you three are old enough to know that clan cats don't trespass onto another clan's territory."

"Well, can we go to Windclan's boarder, then?" Firekit asked.

"You can do that when you three are apprenticed." He meowed, standing up. "It's about time we head back, though. Your mother will start to worry."

"Aww, just a little longer!" Hollykit's brothers pleaded. Hollykit was about to protest, stopping as something caught her eye; three cats were making their way around the edge of the lake, heads and tails high, watching the four of them as they approached. One of them was a slim, gray cat, another was dappled golden, and the last was a gray tabby.

"Who's that?" Hollykit asked, watching them curiously. Lionblaze followed her gaze, shooting to his paws once he caught sight of the three.

"Stay back, you three." He ordered, bounding forward to meet the three cats as they came within earshot. "Greetings, Mistystar." He meowed, dipping his head to her and the other two quickly, turning his gaze back to the gray she cat.

"That's the Riverclan leader!" Nettlekit gasped, his tail quivering. Hollykit blinked, cocking her head to the side a little bit.

"What do you think she's doing here?" Firekit asked, but Hollykit shushed him with a flick of her tail.

"Just listen!" She snapped, twitching her ears towards Mistystar and Lionblaze again.

"Greetings, Lionblaze." Mistystar meowed, her eyes flicking back to the three cats behind him before turning back. "Training some apprentices?"

"No, merely taking my rowdy kits to see the lake." He replied, his tail twitching a little. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Yes, I wish to speak with Bramblestar." She replied, her warm tone fading. "It's important."

"Ooh, what do you think it's about?" Firekit asked, turning and looking at the other two.

"Maybe somebody stole prey from them." Nettlekit suggested.

"Maybe she's mad at Bramblestar about something!" Firekit shot back, excitement flickering in his eyes.

"Maybe someone invaded her territory." Hollykit murmured, watching Mistystar. She looked tense, her tail flicking back and forth worriedly, while the other two cats exchanged quiet words with one another. One of them, the gray tabby, looked up suddenly, meeting Hollykit's eyes for a few long seconds before turning away again.

"Hollykit, Firekit, Nettlekit!" Lionblaze's voice made all three kits jump, turning to see him starting up the slope, watching them from over his shoulder. "We're leaving." He meowed, gesturing up the slope again. Firekit and Nettlekit ran after him, scrabbling over one another, but Hollykit hesitated, casting another glance towards the three Riverclan cats, who hung back a little. Again, the silver tabby locked eyes with her, holding her for a few seconds before she shook her head, running after her brothers. _Maybe it's just me, but something feels wrong…very wrong._


End file.
